Property Record
1305 MAIN ST
Architecture and History Inventory
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| Reference Number: | 12284 |
| Location (Address): | 1305 MAIN ST |
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| County: | Racine |
| City: | Union Grove |
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| Year Built: | 1920 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2007 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Colonial Revival/Georgian Revival |
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| Wall Material: | Aluminum/Vinyl Siding |
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| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | FLAT ROOFED DORIC ENTRANCE PORCH W/ GROUPED PILLARS MOULDED DOOR AND WINDOW HOODS RE-SURVEYED 2007 - VINYL REPLACEMENT SIDING ADDED. Previously surveyed in 1975 "In October of 1918 John Scoot Blakey and his wife moved into their home, according to the Union Grove newspaper. The move was actually not a distant one. The moved from their lovely Queen Anne house at 1313 Main Street directly next door to the north at 1305 Main Street. This smaller transitional Prairie house was the retirement home of the Blakeys. The move was necessitated because Mrs. Blakey was suffering from arthritis and was unable to navigate the stairs int he larger home anymore, as reported by a Union Grove historian. The bungalow (as it was called) was a two story expandable. The first floor contained all the requirements for one story living. Living in close proximity to their original house was probably of comfort to the Blakeys who had raised their only son there and entertained with many social events including Christmas parties and ice cream socials. They were known to be "among the most prominent and widely known couple of this part of the state." The Original Queen Anne house that John Scott Blakey built in 1899 received a Century Building Award from Preservation Racine in 2014. The sunny yellow Colonial revival at 1305 Main Street has been well loved through the years. It is distinguished by three large dormers. One dominant dormer is on the front center of the house and the others are on the south and the north of the building. There is a half-width portico supported by two sets of three clustered Doric columns framing the front door. The simple doorway is flanked by narrow sidelights. These two houses on Main Street are important int he history of Union Grove because John Scott Blakey was a prominent business man, politician and orator, not only in this locality but throughout the surrounding counties. His parents, Thomas Blakey and Mary Scott Blakey were natives of Lancashire, England. In 1844 they came to America and spent one year in Lowell, Massachusetts before moving to Southport (Kenosha). Thomas worked for a long time at his trade as a shoemaker travelling throughout the county making shoes for settlers. Then he decided to turn to farming and bought eighty acres of land in Yorkville. Eventually he bought eighty more acres. Mary and Thomas had eight children. it was here that their son John Scott was born in 1846, just one and one-half miles from his eventual residences on Main Street in Union Grove. Mary died in 1878 at age 62 and Thomas moved to be with a son in Leadville, Colorado. John Scott Blakey received his education in Racine County and then attended R. C. Spencer Business College in Milwaukee. in 1875 he began a milling business in Union Grove. He organized the State Bank of Union Grove and became president, a position he held until his death. He served as a member of the school board and as town clerk. In 1892 he was elected as president of the village board of Union Grove and held that office for fourteen years. In 1902 he became president of the Old Settlers Society in Union Grove and was an officer of that organization for 30 years. In 1904 he was chosen as a delegate to the state convention of the Republican Party. When urged to run for State Senate he declined and withdrew his name. He was also prominent in church work at the Union Grove Congregational Church. On May 13, 1876 Mr. Blakey married Miss Mary Belle Brush. She was a teacher for several years. They had one son, Halbert Brush, who graduated from Union Grove high school and then the University of Chicago and Rush Medical College. He became a leading physician in Columbus, Ohio. He was an accomplished musician, a pianist and composed the music for the University Comic Opera presented by the "Black Friars" of the University of Chicago in 1904. Mrs. John Blakey was also musically gifted. She was a soprano who took vocal training in Chicago and at the Luening Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee. She sang in concerts in many cities and the choir of the Congregational Church. "Both she and her husband well merit the high regard in which they are held by their many friends and acquaintances." written in the History of Racine County. The Blakeys spent their last years in their home at 1305 Main Street adjacent to the first home they had built together. Mr. Blakey died in 1931 and and Mrs. Blakey in 1934. The current owners, Robin N. Carroll and Shelley M Hickman, purchased the house in 2015 and they have treated it with the same love and respect it has received throughout the last century." --Heather Egan "Preservation Racine News" Summer 2018, Volume 12 |
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| Bibliographic References: | . |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |