Property Record
103 MERRILL AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | John Kline Rental House |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 38718 |
| Location (Address): | 103 MERRILL AVE |
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| County: | Rock |
| City: | Beloit |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1891 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1991 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Side Gabled |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Clapboard |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Merrill Avenue Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 2/19/1993 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 12/11/1992 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | One of a set of six "Brasstown cottages" which together form the most complete such group remaining in Beloit. Simple side gabled house in T-plan, two rooms wide and three deep including the T extension. House has main block and two extending blocks forming the T. A third block located off the T is a later addition and has been made into a garage. Has a shed addition off the end of T extension on west facade. The roofline exhibits a central dormer reaching 3/4 to ridge pole which encloses a decorative louvered attic vent enframed in an arched molding. Full front porch with knee braces and squared spindles. House was built in 1891 by John Kline and valued at approximately $430 at this time. Kline was a saloon keeper and lived at 744 Bluff St. This house is significant under criterion A, event, because it retains integrity in location, design, setting, workmanship, materials, feeling and association in order to convey the broad pattern of industrialization in Beloit. One aspect of this industrialization was the growing population and the need to provide affordable housing for industry workers near the factories located on the west side of the Rock River. Brasstown Cottages fulfilled this basic need, furnishing workers with single-dwelling vernacular frame houses on relatively spacious city lots. Moreover the Cottages modest but distinctive profiles found in their variety of size and ornamentation conveyed a sense of individuality while at the same time being identified with the large industrial complex. Beloit's rapid growth from the 1880's to the 1920's was a direct result of this industrialization and created the cityscape of Beloit today It was in this period of heavy industrialization and growth that most of the extant Brasstown Cottages were built. Many of the owners of Brasstown cottages were skilled workers applying their specialized knowledge to the machine-making and paper-making industries of Beloit. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) Beloit City Tax Rolls, 1880-1890, Rock County Historical Society Archives, Janesville, WI. (B) Beloit City Directory, 1902, Beloit Historical Society, WI. (C) Beloit Intensive Survey, Beloit, WI, 1981. (D) Sanborn Map, 1908, Wisconsin State Society Archives, Madison, WI. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |