| 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.
SPINDLED PORCHES. BAY ON SIDE W/SPINDLED BALCONY ABOVE. BAY ON FRONT SQUARE TOWER W/PALLADIAN MOTIF WINDOWS. STICKWORK IN GABLES.
Settled in the 1840s, Hudson has long reaped the benefits of its location on the western edge of fertile prairie land, positioned to become a wheat-milling center by the 1870s. It also sat on the St. Croix River, a major transportation route, and when railroads superseded river transport in the late nineteenth century, they converged here. But the huge Northwoods pineries nearby were the main engines of Hudson’s growth. Hudson sawmills began processing lumber in the early 1850s, when logs came down the river; later the railroads enabled the town to mill lumber year-round. Local residents who made modest fortunes in lumber built imposing homes along Third Street or here along Sixth. Not coincidentally, most of these houses were made of locally milled wood.
The Fulton House is especially fine. With its furniture-like ornamentation, such as spindlework, perforated railings, brackets, and the like, this 1885 residence showcases the Queen Anne substyle called Eastlake. Two stories tall, clad in clapboard, it is characteristically asymmetrical with its cross-gables, porches, and three-story tower. Varied window treatments include Palladian arrangements in the tower’s top stage. But the abundance of lathe-turned woodwork is most striking. The elaborate southwest veranda, meandering around the base of the tower, has graceful porch columns, an arched spindle frieze above, and a two-tiered railing with a cutout pattern and more spindles below. Bay windows receive special treatment, too: a balconet crowns the west bay, and the south bay culminates in a covered balcony with another spindle balustrade and frieze. Overhead, spindlework spans the south-facing gable end, screening a lunette trimmed in a sunray pattern. |
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