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Summary
Prairie Spring Hotel
State Highway 23, Town of Willow Springs, Lafayette County
Date of construction: 1834
The Prairie Spring Hotel is a rare survivor of the earliest settlement period in southwestern Wisconsin. In a time and place when most buildings were small and temporary, Daniel Parkinson's hotel was an anomaly. Hotels such as this were the first semi-public buildings in many rural areas. Not only did they provide a place of rest and refreshment for travelers, they typically served as meeting locations, polling places, post offices, and occasionally courthouses.
The Prairie Spring Hotel was built in the southern vernacular I-house form; in fact, Parkinson was born in Tennessee where this style was prominent. The building has a full width two story porch and two floors of rooms. It is constructed of oak with mortise and tenon framing.
After the primary road from Mineral Point to Galena, Illinois shifted further to the west, Parkinson’s hotel business diminished. After the closing of the hotel, the Parkinson family continued to use the buildings as their home. The family occupied the house until 1928. In 1994, the Lead Region Historic Trust moved the building 800 feet north to a new site. Portions of the building underwent repairs and the original two story porch was reconstructed. The former hotel is now used as a living archaeological site for preservation and vernacular studies.
Property Details
Resources Within The Property
Designations
State & National Registers of Historic Places
The State Register and National Register recognize buildings, sites, districts, structures, and objects that are significant in national, state, or local history. The State Historic Preservation Office in conjunction with the National Park Service maintains the list for Wisconsin and makes the data available to the public for research and education.
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