Property Record
SE of Waterloo at Jct. of Bluse Point and Island Church Rds.
Architecture and History Inventory
Historic Name: | St. Wenceslaus Roman Catholic Church |
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Other Name: | The Island Church |
Contributing: | |
Reference Number: | 16210 |
Location (Address): | SE of Waterloo at Jct. of Bluse Point and Island Church Rds. |
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County: | Jefferson |
City: | |
Township/Village: | Waterloo |
Unincorporated Community: | |
Town: | 8 |
Range: | 13 |
Direction: | E |
Section: | 14 |
Quarter Section: | SW |
Quarter/Quarter Section: | NE |
Year Built: | 1863 |
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Additions: | |
Survey Date: | 1974 |
Historic Use: | house of worship |
Architectural Style: | Early Gothic Revival |
Structural System: | Log |
Wall Material: | Board and Batten |
Architect: | John Fiedler |
Other Buildings On Site: | |
Demolished?: | No |
Demolished Date: |
National/State Register Listing Name: | St. Wenceslaus Roman Catholic Church |
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National Register Listing Date: | 5/12/1975 |
State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
National Register Multiple Property Name: |
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. WISCONSIN REGISTERED LANDMARK, #80. TAMARACK LOG CONSTRUCTION, VERTICAL BOARD AND BATTEN SIDING. LIME PLASTER INTERIOR WALLS. ORIGINAL FURNISHINGS. PHOTO T24/31 IS TEXT OF LANDMARK PLAQUE. ADDITIONAL PHOTO CODE IS GREEN 5/17. St. Wenceslaus is a rare example of the log churches that immigrants built in the early years of Wisconsin’s settlement. Immigrants from Bohemia and present-day Germany who farmed the "islands" (high ground) of Blue Joint Marsh built this small gabled building of tamarack logs in 1863. Within a few years, they weatherproofed the exterior with vertical boards and battens, perhaps adding the square two-stage belfry at that time. The church is plain outside, and in. On the interior, the logs remain apparent through a half-inch coating of lime plaster. John Fiedler, a local craftsman, built the pine pews, cutting them with a foliated profile. The only embellishments that relieve the austerity of the interior space is the artwork over the simple altar, including the image of St. Wenceslaus, patron of Bohemia. Wrought-iron candleholders under each station of the cross remind us that candles and oil lamps once provided the only sources of illumination, and a small iron stove with its extended stovepipe, standing in the aisle, provided the only heat. Regular services ceased in 1891, when the parishioners joined St. Joseph's congregation in Waterloo. |
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Bibliographic References: | PERRIN "ARCHITECTURE OF WISCONSIN" PAGE 124. WATERLOO COURIER 5/30/1996. Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. Perrin, Richard W. E., Historic Wisconsin Architecture, First Revised Edition (Milwaukee, 1976). |
Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |