Property Record
302 S MILLS ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Bowen, James B., House; Seth M. & Harriet Van Bergen |
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| Other Name: | BOWEN HOUSE APARTMENTS |
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| Reference Number: | 16065 |
| Location (Address): | 302 S MILLS ST |
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| County: | Dane |
| City: | Madison |
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| Year Built: | 1855 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1983 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Italianate |
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| Wall Material: | Sandstone |
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| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Bowen, James B., House |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 3/1/1982 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
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| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. MAP CODE IS 070922432061. Madison Landmark 4/17/72 Originally center of a 60-acre farmstead. Outstanding example of early Italianate design. Constructed of local sandstone. Built by Seth Van Bergen. Van Bergens lived here until 1859 when it was sold to Madison's first homeopathic physician, Dr. James Bowen and Susan Bowen. "The visionary act of platting the Greenbush Addition in 1854 began the real suburban development of Madison. A year later, pioneer, Dane County farmer and real estate investor, Seth Van Bergen (1814-1900) realized his own more bucolic vision we he began the construction of this Madison Landmark house as the centerpiece of the 60-acre farm he owned immediately west of the Greenbush. This cut stone building faces Mills Street, then the major route to south Madison, and it is an outstanding example of early Italianate design. Its hilltop setting and the absence of any neighboring houses or vegetation made it a prominent visual landmark in the area for many years. Van Bergen lived in his new house with his wife, Harriet Bushnell Van Bergen, until 1859 when he sold both the house and farm to Madison's first homeopathic physician, Dr. James Bowen and his wife, Susan. Bowen (1815-1881) achieved success both as a physician and as a businessman and became mayor of Madison in 1871. After Bowen's death, the house was inherited first by his daughter, Susan Bowen Ramsey, wife of First National Bank cashier Wayne Ramsey, and then by the Ramsey's so, James Ramsey, who later became one of the founders of the Ray-O-Vac Battery Company." The Greenbush-Vilas Neighborhood: A Walking Tour. Madison Landmarks Commission and the Brittingham-Vilas Neighborhood Association, 1991. |
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| Bibliographic References: | WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL 6/28/1995. MADISON TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION, NEWSLETTER, SUMMER, 1996. WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL 5/3/1996 "Madison's Grandest Homes," MADISON MAGAZINE, November 2001. The Greenbush-Vilas Neighborhood: A Walking Tour. Madison Landmarks Commission and the Brittingham-Vilas Neighborhood Association, 1991. Sandstone and Buffalo Robes: Madison's historic buildings, third edition, 1975. Madison Houses 1836-1915 by Jill Moore Marx |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |