For Immediate Release

Contact: Kara O’Keeffe
608-261-9596
kara.okeeffe@wisconsinhistory.org

December 17, 2018

         The Knapp-Calkins Farmstead Listed in the National Register of Historic Places

Palmyra, Wis. - The Wisconsin Historical Society has announced the listing of the Knapp-Calkins Farmstead in Palmyra, Jefferson County, in the National Register of Historic Places. National Register designation provides access to certain benefits, including qualification for grants and for rehabilitation income tax credits, while it does not restrict private property owners in the use of their property.

The Knapp-Calkins Farmstead is a distinctive and well-preserved example of a Wisconsin farmstead whose varied agricultural outbuildings represents the growth and development of the farm from 1881 to 1950.  The individual buildings of the farmstead are good examples of their building types and the farmhouse is a distinctive example of the late Italianate style of architecture with interior features that possess high artistic value.  

The striking design of the house showcases the best of Italianate design: cream brick walls on a stone foundation; tall arched windows embellished with window hoods; tall, paired, wood doors; wide overhanging eaves under a hipped roof which retains its distinctive large cupola. On the interior, the extensive application of faux wood grain treatments throughout the first and second floor of the house is of exceptional artistry, quality and variety of wood species. The artist elevated what was a known form of relatively simple interior embellishment, to a masterwork.

The register is the official national list of historic properties in America deemed worthy of preservation and is maintained by the National Park Service in the U.S. Department of the Interior. The Wisconsin Historical Society administers the program within Wisconsin. It includes sites, buildings, structures, objects and districts that are significant in national, state or local history, architecture, archaeology, engineering or culture.

To learn more about the State and National Register programs in Wisconsin, visitwww.wisconsinhistory.org.

About Wisconsin Historical Society
The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and most diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. The Wisconsin Historical Society serves millions of people every year through a wide range of sites, programs and services. For more information, visit www.wisconsinhistory.org.

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