click zoom to display a high-res image
Summary
John Gilbert Rosholt House
237 North Main Street, Rosholt, Portage County
Date of construction: 1906
The John Gilbert Rosholt house, completed in 1906, is a two and one half story, wood-frame late Queen Anne style house with classical detailing. It has a wrap around porch and massive rusticated granite foundation. It has been occupied continuously since its completion by members of the Rosholt family. In 2008-2009, Glen Lockery, grandson of J.G. Rosholt, restored the porch, which had been enclosed in 1930. The house stands on a one acre lot adjacent to J.G. Rosholt's State Bank building constructed in 1920. Behind the house, in the northwest corner of the lot, is a garage built ca. 1908 when Rosholt purchased the first automobile in town.
J.G. Rosholt came to Alban Township in 1884 and built a sawmill on a site next to a former beaver dam on the Flume Creek. He invested his earnings from his sawmill in land forested by virgin white pine. He eventually sold 2,500 acres to a lumber company in Schofield, but made the sale contingent on bringing the railroad to Rosholt which stimulated a building boom in the Rosholt settlement.
In 1893 a post office was established in the young settlement and was officially named Rosholt. J.G. Rosholt created the first plat in the future village of Rosholt, which determined the street grid of the business district. In 1904, he founded the State Bank of Rosholt, today Community First Bank. In 1907 Rosholt was established as the third village in Portage County with J.G. Rosholt as the first village president.
J.G. Rosholt played a pivotal role in attracting new businesses to town as well as a Lutheran Church—which was important to the Norwegian settlers in the area. He donated a lot where the church was built, land for the church's cemetery, and a lot for the first public school. He also leased land, for a nominal sum, to the local fair association for fair grounds, where to the present day the Portage County Fair is held. In 1948, his descendants donated, from his residual estate, the fair grounds and an additional five acres for a new K-12 school.
The house is a private residence and is not open to the public. Please respect the rights and privacy of the residents.
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.
Questions?
Wondering about if your property is eligible or have other questions about the registers, reach out today!
Email UsAttribution
For a credit line: Wisconsin Historical Society, Creator, Title, Unique Identifier.
The Unique Identifier can be found at the top or bottom of the page for each item. The name of a downloaded file is NOT the unique identifier.
For bibliographic citations please consult the UW-Madison Libraries Citation Research Guide to ensure compliance with appropriate style guidelines.
6306 State Hwy 23
16000377
Located in Town of Wyoming, Iowa County
1516 Pleasant View Ave
100010153
Located in Waukesha, Waukesha County
