Property Record
777 ISLAND ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Old Badger Plant, Flume and Tail Race |
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| Other Name: | Kaukauna Gas and Electric Light and Power Co. |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 28685 |
| Location (Address): | 777 ISLAND ST |
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| County: | Outagamie |
| City: | Kaukauna |
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| Year Built: | 1907 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 198320142020 |
| Historic Use: | public utility/power plant/sewage/water |
| Architectural Style: | Astylistic Utilitarian Building |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Stone - Unspecified |
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| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | A 'site file' (Badger Hydroelectric Historic District) 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, Division of Historic Preservation-Public History. 2020: The “Old” Badger Plant building, constructed in 1907, is extant but the plant was retired in 2014 and the power canal/flume was filled and made into a park. The Kaukauna Utilities building attached to the south/east elevation of the “Old” Badger Plant building was constructed in 1979. The glass walled portion of that building is an addition that was completed in 2008. 1983: "Built on the side of a small hill, the two-story cream-colored rectangular brick building has a return cornice and a hip roof. A round chimney vent projects from the roof. The main entranceway (south) has a portico. Fenestration is original including the multi-paned windows. A modern two-story rectangular addition to the east is not being nominated to the National Register. The older Badger Plant is the oldest remaining structure of the hydroelectric plants owned or controlled by the Kaukauna municipal electric utility, and is one of the plants which brought Kaukauna the nickname "The Electric City." Built in 1907 by the Green Bay and Mississippi Canal Company in the ruins of Col. H.A. Frambach's Badger Paper Mill, Old Badger's 3,300 horsepower and relative sophistication were a great improvement over the tiny Edison hydroelectric stations pioneered in neighboring Appleton in 1882. Appleton architectural firm O'Keefe and Orbison, designers of the first Edison hydroplant built for the purpose, had made the Vulcan Street plant in Appleton of wood, a simple frame building about the size of a small garage. By 1907, the architecture as well as the technology of the electricty industry had matured, and Old Badger, again designed by O'Keefe and Orbison, is a handsome structure of native stone. Old Badger was created with 3,300 available horsepower. After Old Badger was completed by the Canal Company, the local electric company called Kaukauna Gas, Electric Light and Power Company, which had built its own plant earlier in 1890, contracted with the Canal Company to lease the entire power production of Old Badger. The City acquired the Kaukauna Gas, Electric Light and Power Company plant for $50,000 in 1912, turning it into a municipal utility. At first the City did not feel that it would need the power from Old Badger too, but leased 700 of the 3,300 horsepower until 1921, when it began to use the entire output. In 1926, the City contracted for a new power plant at Rapide Croche near Wrightstown, and in 1928 took over New Badger in Kaukauna, a new plant designed to replace the 1890 pioneer. Old Badger, New Badger, and Rapide Croche filled the City's needs until 1941, when the Kaukauna City Plant was designed with a 4,800 kilowatt capacity, followed by the 1948 Little Chute Plant controlled from New Badger. In short, by 1948 the Kaukauna municipal utility was a regional electric company, supplying power for the Villages of Little Chute and Combined Locks and about 60 miles of farmland, besides the City of Kaukauna. With Old Badger, New Badger, Rapide Croche, Little Chute, and the City Plant under its ownership or control, the "Electric City" has fully developed its hydroelectric potential." Walking Tour Through Old Kaukauna: Two Self-Guided Historic Tours Kaukauna, Wisconsin, City of Kaukauna, 1983. PREVIOUS OWNERS: Green Bay and Mississippi Canal Co. (1907-19); Heileman & Scholl Paper Co. (1920-22); Kaukauna Paper Co. (1923-24); Badger Tissue Mills (1925-62); City of Kaukauna (1974). OAHP INVENTORY (09/1981): The Kaukauna City Power Plant was built by the Green Bay and Mississippi Canal Company on the site of the old Badger Paper Mill in 1907. The Government Wall, Tail Race and Flumes used by the power plant were originally constructed and used by the Badger Paper Mill until the entire building was destroyed by fire on July 30, 1897. The generators installed in 1907 are presently in use. They are each 251 amps, 2,300 volts and runs at 180 RPM's. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) Kaukauna 175th Jubilee Album, pp. 40-46. (B) Kaukauna Times, May 17, 1907; Sept 4, 1908. (C) Kaukauna Assessment Rolls 1886-1982. (D) Date of construction: DOE. (E.) The Kaudauna Times 100th Anniversary 1880-1980. Sept. 16, 1980. Located on Kaukauna Times front page labeled 1905, 1906, 1907, 1897, 1898. "Supplemental/Addendum Information to FCC Package, Kaukauna Tower, East 9th Street and Boyd Avenue, Kaukauna, WI 54130." WHS Project #14-0410/OU June 2014. Prepared by Lena Hoffmeyer. Walking Tour Through Old Kaukauna: Two Self-Guided Historic Tours Kaukauna, Wisconsin, City of Kaukauna, 1983. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |