Property Record
800 E ST FRANCIS RD
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Glen and Ethel Macaux House |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 233673 |
| Location (Address): | 800 E ST FRANCIS RD |
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| County: | Brown |
| City: | De Pere |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1955 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 20172019 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Ranch |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | Robert Smet (contractor/designer) |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Daviswood Ranch Homes Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 10/4/2021 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 5/14/2021 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | 2017 survey recommendation write-up: Located north of Ridgeway Boulevard and east of Urbandale Avenue, this residential district consists of thirty-four, single-family, Ranch-style homes and one non-contributing 1950s Contemporary-style home arranged around St. Francis Road, a U-shaped roadway. Exterior sheathing includes any number of combinations of the following: stone veneer, board, brick veneer, wood shingle, board-and-batten, as well as vinyl or aluminum. Some of the homes retain their original windows (some with horizontal-pane sash), while others have been replaced with one-over-one-light sash. The homes in the proposed district are located in the Daviswood subdivision, the plat of which was approved by the city in 1952. The land that comprised Daviswood was owned by Jessie N. Davis, the widow of attorney Morton E. Davis who died in 1948. The Davis’s son, Morton E. Davis, Jr., lived in the subdivision at 868 E. St. Francis Road. Daviswood is believed to be among the earliest subdivisions in De Pere that included deed restrictions with purchase of a lot. Among the eleven restrictions (which were set to expire on 1 January 1980) included those designating standard setback distances, the inability to house livestock, as well as required plan and specification approval by the subdivision owner, Jessie N. Davis. Notably all houses were directed to have attached garages and house construction was to be complete within ten months of its start. Earlier survey information indicated that local builder Robert Smet was the developer of the subdivision. While no solid evidence of his involvement in the subdivision’s actual development was found at this time, he was, in fact, responsible for the construction of many of the homes located within it—although not all of them. Smet established his construction business in 1934 and was known for custom-built homes; he died in 1980. His son Daniel expanded the business, while his grandsons Chad and Scott operate the business today (known as C.S. Smet Construction Corporation). Aside from Smet, homes are identified as having been built by contractors Ralph Vandenbush, William Adrianson and Irvin Selsmeyer. All homes were built between 1953 and 1956, with the final, non-contributing home constructed in 1957. Construction costs generally averaged $20,000. Early ads for the subdivision touted its beautiful setting and heavily wooded lots, citing that you could be “City Spoiled yet Country Loving, in Picturesque Daviswood.” Glen J. Macaux (1918-2003) was a general agent for the Indianapolis Life Insurance Co. when he his house was built and for many years thereafter. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Building permit published in the Green Bay Press Gazette on June 2, 1955, page 43; est. cost, $20,000. Robert Smet owner/builder. Building permit published in the De Pere Journal-Democrat on June 2, 1955, p. 1; est. cost, $20,000. Contractor was Robert Smet. Green Bay/De Pere City Directory. 1956. Green Bay Press-Gazette. Dec. 5, 2003, p. 14. Obituary of Glen J. Macaux. Citations for 2017 survey info below: Not all subdivision plats were reviewed for restrictions but of the early ones that were checked, the only other subdivision found to have deed restrictions was the Bruss Addition, which extends to either side of Jordan Road at Bruss and Rebman streets on the west and Grace Street to the east. While consisting of only three restrictions, the first was regarding the race of the inhabitant, which was to only include gentiles of the Caucasian race, with exceptions for domestic servants, Bruss Addition, Subdivision plat with restrictions (April 1948), on file at the Department of Building Inspection, City of De Pere; Daviswood, Subdivision plat, including restrictions (March 1952), On file at the Department of Building Inspection; Jessie N. Davis died in 1975, “Mrs. Jessie N. Davis,” Green Bay Press-Gazette, 11 December 1974, 39. “City of De Pere, Brown County, Wisconsin, Intensive Survey Report.” Prepared by Timothy F. Heggland for the City of De Pere, 2001. Copy available at the Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, WI, page 47; “Attorney Ill 10 Days, Dies,” Green Bay Press-Gazette, 1 November 1948, 1; Business feature, C.S. Smet, in the Green Bay Press-Gazette, 1 April 2006, 20; Contractors names gleaned from published permits in the Green Bay Press-Gazette, 1953-1954, see WAHI for contractor information for each home; Advertisement, “Daviswood,” Green Bay Press-Gazette, 16 May 1952, 22 (note that there may have been a typo in the printed ad, and it should have perhaps read, “City Spoiled, Yet Country Living…”; Robert Smet, Obituary, Green Bay Press-Gazette, July 30, 1980, p. 28. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |