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Waupun Commercial Historic District

Dec. 16, 2019

Waupun, Wisconsin — The Wisconsin Historical Society has announced the listing of the Waupun Commercial Historic District in Waupun, Dodge and Fond du Lac Counties, 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 Waupun Commercial Historic District represents the development of a concentrated commercial area within this small city from the 1850s to the 1960s. Much of construction within the district took place during a long period of economic development and expansion, not uncommon for small cities across Wisconsin. The commercial buildings along East Main Street, complimented by governmental, financial, professional, and institutional buildings, created a series of contiguous blocks of masonry buildings, forming a recognizable and dense streetscape.

The district is significant for its collection of commercial buildings and represents a wide range of design influences, both vernacular and high style. Design influences in the district include Front Gabled, Commercial Vernacular, Italianate, Queen Anne, Neoclassical, Twentieth Century Commercial, and Contemporary styles and demonstrate the longevity and variety of the commercial district and its architecture. Likewise, the district is also significant as the focal point for commercial activity in Waupun from the 1850s to the 1960s. The majority of the businesses, banks, and institutions have located along East Main Street and surrounding blocks, composing the city’s central business district, and reflecting the history of commercial development in the community as well as the development of popular architectural styles as they evolved for 115 years.

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.

The Fuldner Heritage Fund paid for the preparation of this nomination.  This endowed fund, created through a generous donation by the Jeffris Family Foundation and administered by the Wisconsin Historical Society, supports the nomination of historically and architecturally significant rural and small town properties.

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

About the 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 wisconsinhistory.org.