click zoom to display a high-res image
Property Location
Property Features
"F" roll negatives filed with Fox River Valley Survey Project.
Additional photo code: FCS 10/20.
Related Buildings: office.
LARGE MANUFACTURING COMPLEX W/LONG CENTRAL BLDG W/RAISED MIDDLE GABLE. SEGMENTAL ARCH WINDOWS ON ONE-STORY SHED ROOF AREAS ALONG SIDES. LAWTON PATENTED THE BRAN DRESSER MACHINE.
Lawton Manufacturing is a two-story utilitarian industrial building, a shallow-gabled, clerestoried brick rectangle abutted by other structures of a factory complex. The right wing of FCS 10/20 is flush with the facade of a brick building with a sawtooth roof. Its rear wall is obscured by an uphill building. Its west, trackside facade, reinforced by a horizontal cleat braced by pipes, has two square, paneled attic windows set above and between three stone-silled, metal-framed second-story windows. The three windows in the left wing of the ground story are covered by wood and metal panels. A large square at center has a beam lintel and metals doors. The three openings in the right wing are a metal-paneled window, a stone-silled, metal framed window at center, and a recessed right door. The roof over the first two, left bays of the north sidewall has raised to accommodate an overhead door. The other dozen sidewall windows are covered with wood or corrugated fiberglass panels. Fiberglass panels cover the clerestory. Along the ridge of the roof are evenly-spaced metal ventilators and a rear ladder to the uphill, roadside building.
HAER INVENTORY (07/1979):
Charles A. Lawton and his uncle, E.W. Arndt started their general machine shop in 1879, as a partnership under the name of the Novelty Mfg. Co. This shop was designed to service the many small manufacturing plants in De Pere. Founder Lawton headed the company for thirty-eight years until his death in 1917. It was then taken over by his son, Edward, and then his grandson, Charles II. The company was incorporated in 1893, and expanded in 1918.
One of the first items manufactured was a patented machine called the "Bran Dresser"--invented by Charles I, which separated bran from flour after it was ground. It was quite successful, but only until 1881 when a new milling process, Steven's Roller Mill, revolutionized flour milling. The De Pere firm then started making the Steven's machine. They took out out a loan at Jone's Bank, the bank folded, and Lawtons sold everything to pay their debts. Charles II then borrowed machinery and started again in a new building built adjacent to and including the old one. The main building, built before 1945, stands 360' x 250' and is in complete working order. The original buildings are made of brick with a mixture of segmental arch and flat-type windows. The roofs vary from gable, saw-toothed, and shed type.
National And State Register Of Historic Places Listings
Architecture & History Inventory
The Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory (AHI) is a digital source of information on historic buildings, structures, and objects that have been surveyed by the State Historic Preservation Office in Wisconsin. Each property has a digital record providing basic information about the property and images.
Questions?
Wondering about if your property is eligible or notice some information on this property needs to be updated, reach out today!
Email UsAttribution
For a credit line: Wisconsin Historical Society, Creator, Title, Unique Identifier.
The Unique Identifier can be found at the top or bottom of the page for each item. The name of a downloaded file is NOT the unique identifier.
For bibliographic citations please consult the UW-Madison Libraries Citation Research Guide to ensure compliance with appropriate style guidelines.
Access Property Records
Some properties have more materials (correspondence, clippings, historical information, etc.) not in the digital record. If a 'Site File' exists, it's noted in the 'Additional Comments' field. Contact us for an appointment to view these materials.
