Property Record
201 S KANE ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Anthony & Elisa Meinhardt House |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 10642 |
| Location (Address): | 201 S KANE ST |
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| County: | Racine |
| City: | Burlington |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1882 |
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| Additions: | 1914 |
| Survey Date: | 19752011 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Queen Anne |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Stone - Unspecified |
| Architect: | EDWARD TOWNSEND MIX & CO; GUILBERT AND FUNSTON |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Kane Street Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 7/25/2014 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 11/22/2013 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | SEGMENTAL ARCHED WINDOWS W/STONE LINTELS. PORTE COCHERE EXTENDS FROM ENTRANCE PORCH AND WAS DESIGNED BY GUILBERT AND FUNSTON IN 1914. PAIRED MITERED ARCHED WINDOWS IN GABLE. SQUARE CNR TURRET W LARGE PYRAMIDAL ROOF BARGEBOARDS. MEINHARDT WAS A BANKER. Elisa Riel was born in Germany in 1840. At a young age, she immigrated with her family to the United States, where they settled on a farm in Bohner’s Lake in 1848 but soon moved to Burlington. In 1858, she married Anthony Meinhardt, who operated a grocery store and served as Burlington postmaster; and they eventually had nine children. The Meinhardts constructed a large residence on Kane Street in 1882. The Anthony & Elisa Meinhardt House is located at 201 S. Kane Street. The house was designed by Milwaukee architect Edward Townsend Mix and was constructed by Fred Itzin of limestone supplied from the excavation of the house’s basement and from the nearby property of Charles G. Foltz. The house was situated on a 15 acre property that featured gardens, an orchard, pasture, fountains, tennis courts, and a pine grove. The landscaping was designed by Dennis Buettner. In 1914, the house’s original front porch was relocated to the house’s side and replaced with a larger porch and porte-cochere of matching limestone designed by Racine architects Guilbert & Funston. At one time, the cabin now located in Wehmhoff Square was located on to the Meinhardt House grounds. The Meinhardts founded a private bank, Meinhardt Bank, in 1891. Their daughter, Eda Meinhardt, served as the bank’s first cashier. Since its founding, Meinhardt Bank has occupied a bank building constructed in 1847; and has the distinction of being the oldest bank building in Wisconsin still in use as such. Meinhardt Bank is located at 189 E. Chestnut Street. A few months after the bank’s opening, Anthony’s health failed, and he was forced to retire. After Anthony’s death in the summer of 1891, Elisa, Eda, and their son, Albert Meinhardt, continued to operate of the bank. The bank operated as a private bank until state laws abolished the operation of such in 1896. With the exception of a brief partnership with Edward Brook, from 1891 to 1896, the Meinhardt Bank was a Meinhardt family institution. Elisa served as president until 1907, at which time Albert succeeded her. Eda Meinhardt, the daughter of Anthony and Elisa, attended the University of Wisconsin to study pharmacy. During her sophomore year in 1886, she left her studies at the university and went to Oakland, Nebraska, where she learned the banking business from family friend A. E. Wells. In 1891, she returned to Burlington to assist her father in the opening of the Meinhardt Bank. Eda Meinhardt was active with the bank’s operation through the 1940s. Albert meinhardt, the son of Anthony and Elisa, attended Beloit College and, upon his graduation in 1891, returned to Burlington to assist his father and sister, Eda, in the opening the Meinhardt Bank. After his father’s death in the summer of 1891, Albert, Elisa, and Eda took over ownership and operation of the bank. Albert was active with the bank’s operation through the 1940s. After their mother’s death in 1923, Eda, Albert, and their siblings continued living in the family home. None of them having children, the house was first occupied outside of the family after Eda’s sister Antoinette Meinhardt Fulton’s death in 1967. |
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| Bibliographic References: | PRESERVATION RACINE, INC. NEWSLETTER SUMMER 1994. General Files. On file at the Burlington Historical Society, Burlington, Wisconsin. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |