Property Record
300 WATSON ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Hotel LeRoy |
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| Other Name: | Davis Hotel |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 28924 |
| Location (Address): | 300 WATSON ST |
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| County: | Fond du Lac |
| City: | Ripon |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1853 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1989 |
| Historic Use: | lodging-hotel |
| Architectural Style: | Commercial Vernacular |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Stone - Unspecified |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Watson Street Commercial Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 9/27/1991 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 7/26/1991 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| 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 State Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation. The hotel was built by Timothy J. Mapes, son of David Mapes, one of the founders of Ripon. Perhaps because he was a staunch and somewhat pro-southern democrat, the hotel was used in 1860 as a headquarters for the federal marshals to locate and arrest Sherman Booth, a leading Milwaukee abolitionist who was rescued from a Milwaukee jail by fellow Ripon-area abolitionists. In 1918-1919, the building was renamed the Hotel Leroy. During this time, the hotel was taken over by Ripon Colllege for use as a women's dormitory and fine dining , while the Army occupied several campus residence halls to house a unit of the Student Army Training Corps during WWI. A fourth-floor copula was added in the late 19th century. This addition was destroyed by fire in the early 1900s, as flames and ashes from the Pedrich Opera House located across the street were flown onto the roof of Mapes House. |
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| Bibliographic References: | RIPON COMMONWEALTH PRESS 5/26/1994. RIPON COMMONWEALTH PRESS 12/7/1995. Ripon Commonwealth Press 2/27/1997. Take a Walk on Main Street: Historic Walking Tours in Wisconsin's Main Street Communities, Wisconsin Main Street Program, 1998. Ripon Historic Walking Tour brochure, 2015. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |