| Additional Information: | 1990: The O.S. Powell House is a 1 1/2 story, masonry building clad with brick. A gabled ell, it exhibits characteristics of Italinate styling with later architectural features. The west-facing Fourth Street elevation is dominated by a gable wall pierced by two double hung 2/2 windows, each with brackets and decorative lintels. The recessed entry is protected by a shed roof porch supported by Ionic columns. The Maple Street elevatioin faces south and features a gable wall with a bay window and double hung window similar to those in the west gable. Another entrance, this one with sidelights, is covered by a hipped porch supported by a pair of Ionic columns. Wide eaves have paired decorative brackets. A shed dormer faces west, and a one story garage is attached to the north wall. The roof is covered with asphalt shingles and has a corbeled brick chimney in the middle of the east west ridge.
2014-2015: Located within and a contributing property within the East Side Residential Historic District, this two-story red brick, gabled ell house rises from a stone foundation and features unique, angled brick corner trim. A one-story, hipped-roof porch is located within the southwest ell juncture, while a flat-roof porch is located along N. Fourth Street; both porches feature fluted Ionic column supports and replacement balustrades. Paired wooden bracket trim runs beneath the wide eaves of the roof, as well as along each porch, and along the one-story bay to the south. Windows are regularly placed, two-over-two-light examples with projecting wooden headers with bracket trim. Since the house was last surveyed, the trim has been painted in a tri-color scheme; it had previously been white. As well, the porch railings have been added, as has the ironwork fence that surrounds the property.
This house was built in 1869 by Oliver S. and Elmira Powell. Oliver Powell was born on 19 June 1831 in Madrid, New York. At the age of twelve, his family moved to Illinois and in 1849 he and his brother Nathaniel moved to River Falls; they are considered among the first settlers of the town. In 1852, the brothers erected the first frame building in the community, as well as built the first sawmill, the latter of which was destroyed by fire in 1876. The brothers were responsible for the 1854 plat of the village--originally known as Kinnickinnic--but later changed to River Falls with the establishment of a post office of that name. One year after he built his substantial brick home, he also entered into politics, serving in the state assembly from 1870 to 1872. Powell wed Elmira Nichols in 1860; they had seven children. Oliver is identified as being a significant player in establishing the Normal School in River Falls in 1874 (now UWRF) and bringing the railroad to the community in 1878. His life ended in 1888, while in his own sorghum mill. Elmira died in April 1930 and the house remained in the family into the 1950s |
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| Bibliographic References: | 1885 tax roll book confirms property was the OS Powell estate, as does the 1892 book.
Newsbrief (re: Oliver Powell builds house), RFJ, 29 October 1969; Graham, A Souvenir—River Falls, Wis., 4-5; Easton, History of the St. Croix Valley, 619-21; “River Falls, Wisconsin: Intensive Survey Report,” 122; Dan Geister, “558 E. Maple and the Powell Family—the Most Important Family to Ever Live in River Falls, Wisconsin! The Definitive History Here,” Available online at http://piercecountyhistorical.areavoices.com, Posted on 18 May 2012, Accessed May 2015, includes an undated black-and-white photo. Although not reviewed, the Oliver S. Powell and Family Papers, 1832-1982, are available at the Minnesota Historical Society/Minnesota History Center, St. Paul, Minnesota. |
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