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Summary
Frances Kurth Sharrow House
841 Park Ave., Columbus, Columbia County
Architect: Walter J. Keith
Construction Date: 1916-1917
The Sharrow house is Columbus's finest Prairie School style house. It was built in 1916-1917 by Columbus builder Alfred Ibisch from plans provided by Walter J. Keith, a Minneapolis, Minnesota architect whose self-published plan books were an important source of house designs for upper Midwestern builders. Wide, overhanging eaves shelter the home's stucco clad walls. The attached garage, an alteration of the original Keith design, was constructed within a few years by the Sharrows.
Keith's client, John Henry Kurth, was a member of one of Columbus's most important families. His father, Henry John Kurth, came to Columbus in 1859 and started the Kurth Brewery. In 1916, John Henry Kurth commissioned this house as a wedding present for his daughter, Frances Kurth, who shortly afterwards married Lloyd C. Sharrow, a pharmacist and a future mayor of Columbus. This new house was built next to the brewery, most of which was destroyed in a great fire in the same year. It also lies directly across Park Avenue from John Henry Kurth's own house at 902 Park Ave. The Sharrows lived in this house for the rest of their lives and when Frances Kurth Sharrow died in 1977, the house became the property of her granddaughter, Ruth Ann Hermanson, and her husband, who lived there until it was purchased and beautifully restored by the current owners in 2006.
The Sharrow house is a private residence. Please respect the rights and privacy of the owners.
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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