209 Central Avenue

Summary

David M. and Lottie Fulmer House
200 Central Avenue, Florence, Florence County
Date of Construction: 1899

David M. Fulmer was a successful timber dealer, lumber manufacturer and one of Florence's most prominent citizens when he had this house constructed on the shore of Fisher Lake in 1899. A very early example of the Prairie School style, the house is unique in Florence and would have been considered on the cutting edge of residential design at the time it was constructed. The exterior is of stucco with wood trim; horizontal orientation, a hallmark of the style, is emphasized by the large hipped roof with wide overhanging eaves, the banding trim that encircles the second floor and the broad porch which extends the entire width of the front facade. The interior is distinguished by a high level of craftsmanship and, befitting a lumberman, features solid oak interior finishes.

Unfortunately, Fulmer and his family occupied their house only until 1903 before a death in the family and business reverses prompted them to move to Evanston, Illinois. The house was then sold to attorney Max Sells in 1904 and is now best known for its connections with this important local family. Sells served as the Florence County district attorney for twenty years, was an important figure in the Wisconsin Republican Party and was a president of the State Bank of Florence. After Sells died in 1935, the house was subsequently owned by his daughter and fellow attorney Verle E. Sells, who in 1937 became the first woman to be elected as a judge in Wisconsin.

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