Property Record
414 W MAIN ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | PIERCE COUNTY COURTHOUSE |
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| Other Name: | PIERCE COUNTY COURTHOUSE |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 16352 |
| Location (Address): | 414 W MAIN ST |
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| County: | Pierce |
| City: | Ellsworth |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
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| Year Built: | 1905 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1981 |
| Historic Use: | courthouse |
| Architectural Style: | Neoclassical/Beaux Arts |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Limestone |
| Architect: | BUECHNER AND ORTH |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Pierce County Courthouse |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 3/9/1982 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: | County Courthouses of Wisconsin Thematic Group |
| 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. MARBLE INTERIOR. MURALS IN ROTUNDA. Additions to the building include a three story brick stair tower constructed in the 1970s and a one story brick jail. Prior to legislative action in 1853, Pierce Co. was part of larger St. Croix Co., which also included the future county of Polk. At the time that the separate counties were established, it was stipulated that the county seat, originally at Prescott, might be changed by popular vote. In 1861, citizens exercised this option by moving the government to Ellsworth, a more central location than either Prescott or River Falls. The first courthouse in Ellsworth proved unfit and a new one was built by private subscription at which governmental activities took place for several years. The decision to erect a jail resulted in the construction of another county courthouse as well. By the turn of the century, the existing 1870 building seemed inappropriate to the image and needs of the growing county and the present building was begun in 1905. It was a fireproof building with ample rooms for offices and vaults. |
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| Bibliographic References: | ELLSWORTH PIERCE COUNTY HERALD 8/30/1995. Cornerstone. Eau Claire Leader Telegram 10/10/1979. "History of Pierce County and Spring Valley, Wisconsin", Allan C. Brown, n.d., from Pierce County's Heritage, Pierce County Historical Society, 1971. History of the St. Croix Valley, Augustus B. Easton, H.C. Cooper, Jr. and Company, Chicago, 1909, pp. 496-501. Pierce County Herald, 12/29/1904. Ellsworth Pierce County Herald 3/27/2002. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |