Property Record
429 N 7TH ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | HIXON, GIDEON C., HOUSE |
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| Other Name: | HIXON HOUSE MUSEUM |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 16233 |
| Location (Address): | 429 N 7TH ST |
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| County: | La Crosse |
| City: | La Crosse |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Range: | |
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| Year Built: | 1859 |
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| Additions: | C. 1870 1883 1881 1900C. 2006 |
| Survey Date: | 1996 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Italianate |
| Structural System: | Balloon Frame |
| Wall Material: | Clapboard |
| Architect: | C.F. STRUCK ; GEORGE L. HARVEY |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Hixon, Gideon C., House |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 12/30/1974 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. Heavy brackets and dentil trim under broad eaves; two story gable roofed wings (added) on north and south sides; one bay entrance porch with capped carved square posts, arched porch openings and brackets under the eaves; side porch in south angle of house of similar design; plain windows with projecting cornices; gambrel and jerkin head gable roofed carriage house at the rear; iron fence surrounds property; well crafted woodwork of many varieties and an 1890s Turkish corner is found in the 15 room house containing the original furnishings of the Hixon family. The Hixon House's exterior and interior has been maintained as it was in the 1880s by the La Crosse County Historical Society. The Hixon House is an unusually good example of early La Crosse simplified Italianate influenced by residential architecture because of the excellent preservation of both the exterior and interior features and furnishings. G.C. Hixon was important in the local, and regional, lumber business. In 1870, he partnered with NH Withee to create one of the early logging and lumber firms. As time passed, Hixon and his son Frank obtained rights to other businesses - most distant from La Crosse. GC Hixon and his wife Sarah Crosby Hixon, the half sister of WW Crosby, came to La Crosse in 1856, but his young wife soon died. Gideon married Ellen Pennell in 1861 and they had five sons. After her death in 1913, her niece Mary Crosby lived in the house until 1936 and added the painted walls of the dining room. From 1945 until 1948 the house was used as a girls' rooming house. Addition of two stories at a cost of $3000.00 in 1870; a two-story wing on the south side was added in 1881, the interior was renovated in 1881, the west and rear wing were enlarged and increased to two stories in 1883. Covenant/Easement: From 9/9/1977 to 9/9/1997. A 'covenant file' exists for this property. It may contain additional information such as photos, drawings and correspondence. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. 1996- "Historically known as the Gideon C. Hixon House, this 1859 structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974." - "La Crosse North/South Transportation Corridor", WisDOT ID #5991-04-00, Prepared by Heritage Research, Ltd. (1996). |
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| Bibliographic References: | LACROSSE TRIBUNE 6/12/1994. Janesville Gazette 10/17/2001. Building Plaque. "The Hixon House and La Crosse County Historical Museum," brochure. LACROSSE TRIBUNE 7/2/1995. LACROSSE TRIBUNE 11/26/1995. La Crosse Morning Leader, 13 December 1870. La Crosse Republican Leader, 15 August 1881, 10 July 1883. La Crosse Chronicle, 8 September 1881. LaCrosse Tribune 11/7/1998. Crocker, Leslie. La Crosse Buildings through Time. La Crosse: La Crosse Public Library Archives Department, 2015. La Crosse Leader, 11 December 1869, p. 4. La Crosse Daily News, 28 July 1881, 29 Aug 1881, 7 Sept 1881, 8 Sept 1881. La Crosse Morning Chronicle, 11 Aug 1881, 6 Sept 1881. La Crosse Republican-Leader, 20 August 1881, 10 July 1883. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |