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Summary
Hammond Farmstead
3859 Vilas Road, Town of Cottage Grove, Dane County, WI
Beginning in 1846 when Alexander Hammond constructed the earliest portion of his farmhouse, and continuing through the remainder of the nineteenth century, all of the twentieth century, and into the twenty-first century, the Hammond Farmstead has been owned and operated by the Hammond family for over 175 years. Alexander Hammond was born in Ticonderoga, New York on June 22, 1800. Caroline (Brown) Hammond was born in Pennsylvania on June 9, 1821. By 1841, Caroline’s family had traveled to Wisconsin and established a homestead in the Town of Cottage Grove; at the time, the Browns were the fourth family to homestead in the township. By 1843, Alexander Hammond had also arrived in the present-day area of Cottage Grove where he met Caroline Brown and purchased land south of her family’s homestead.
Alexander and Caroline were married in in the fall of 1846 and began farming on the property the following spring. The Hammond Farmstead’s existing agricultural outbuildings were constructed between 1901 and c.1965 by subsequent generations of the Hammond family. The outbuildings reflect the evolving agricultural trends – from tobacco cultivation to dairy farming – that were prevalent in southeastern Dane County during this period. In addition to the original Alexander and Caroline Hammond house which features a hewn wood frame, buildings on the farmstead include a dairy barn (1901) with attached milk house (c.1950), a freestanding milk house (c.1910), a tobacco stripping house (c.1910), a garage (c.1938), a tobacco shed (1946), and a concrete stave silo with attached trough (c.1965). The property also contains a corn crib (c.1990) and a secondary house (originally a Quonset building) that was moved to the property in 1949 with a 1960 addition. Taken as a whole, the Hammond Farmstead is an excellent local representative of the evolution of a family tobacco and dairy farm from the mid-nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century.
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Property Details
| Criteria | Architecture/Engineering |
|---|---|
| Area Of Significance | Architecture |
| Period of Significance | 1846-1965 |
| Architectural Style | Greek Revival,Other |
| Architect | Hammond, Alexander,Hammond, Robert A.,Hammond, Robert L. |
| Resource Type | Building |
| Historic Use | Agricultural Outbuildings,Single Dwelling |
Resources Within The Property
| Contributing Buildings | 6 |
|---|---|
| Contributing Sites | 0 |
| Contributing Structures | 1 |
| Contributing Objects | 0 |
| Non-Contributing Buildings | 1 |
| Non-Contributing Sites | 0 |
| Non-Contributing Structures | 1 |
| Non-Contributing Objects | 0 |
Designations
| Historic Status | Listed in the State Register |
|---|---|
| National Historic Landmark Listing Date | May 26, 2023 |
| Historic Status | Listed in the National Register |
| National Historic Landmark Listing Date | Sep 1, 2023 |
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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Hammond Farmstead Listed in the National Register of Historic Places
Wednesday, September 27, 2023
The Wisconsin Historical Society announces the listing of the Hammond Farmstead in the National Register of Historic Places on September 1, 2023.
