| 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.
EAVE-LINE BRACKETS, SEGMENTAL ARCH OPENINGS/VOUSSOIRS, AND GROINS CHARACTERIZE THE FORMER GRANT COUNTY JAIL BUILDING.
OTHER FEATURES OF THE TWO STORY BUILDING INCLUDE A CORNICE WITH LARGE DENTILS, A RAISED, ROUGH-CUT STONE BASEMENT, STONE SILLS, A HIPPED ROOF WITH A DECK AND A T-PLAN CONFIGURATION.
A PORCH MODIFICATION OCCURRED IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY.
THE JAIL WAS CONSTRUCTED IN 1872 BY HAUGH AND CO., INDIANAPOLIS (A,B). IN 1894, THE SHERIFF'S RESIDENCE WAS ATTACHED TO THE JAIL BY BUILDERS MUESSE AND PATCH OF LANCASTER (B).
THE STRUCTURE IS CONSIDERED TO BE IN GOOD CONDITION. THE ASSOCIATED EVENT WHICH MAKES THIS BUILDING SIGNIFICANT IS THAT IT RELATES TO NATIONAL POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT (A,C). THE SURVEY EVALUATION CRITERIA USES AN EVENT AND ARCHITECURE/ENGINEERING DATA.
ARCHITECTURAL STATEMENT:
LOCATED ON A CORNER OF THE COURTHOUSE SQUARE, THE FORMER COUNTY JAIL AND SHERIFF'S RESIDENCE IS AN IMPORTANT ILLUSTRATION OF ITALIANATE ARCHITECTURE. THE LARGE RED BRICK STRUCTURE, WHICH EVOKES A DOMESTIC RATHER THAN AN INSTITUTIONAL FEELING, EXHIBITS THE FORM AND FEATURES OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY STYLE.
IN ADDITION, THE BUILDING IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IT REPRESENTS A UNIQUE TYPE OF CONSTRUCTION -- THE COMBINATION JAIL AND RESIDENCE. THIS BUILDING TYPE IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR FEW EXAMPLES, PARTICULARLY THOSE WHICH HAVE RETIANED THEIR ARCHITECTURAL INTEGRITY, REMAIN IN THE STATE.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
GRANT COUNTY'S FIRST JAIL, A LOG EDIFICE COMPLETED IN 1838-39, WAS REPLACED BY THE BRICK BUILDING WHICH TODAY FORMS THE REAR PORTION OF THE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES IN 1872. THE JAIL, CONTAINING TWELVE CELLS, WAS BUILT BY HAUGH & CO. OF INDIANAPOLIS, WITH THE IRON WORK PORVIDED BY NORRIS & HINKLEY OF MONROE. A DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED BUILDING WAS INCLUDED IN THE GRANT COUNTY CENTENNIAL EDITION OF THE FENNIMORE TIMES: "THE WALLS ARE TO BE ONE FOOT SIX INCHES THICK, LAID WITH GOOD BUILDING STONE IN THE BEST SAND AND LIME MORTAR. THE DIMENSIONS OF THE BUILDING TO BE 36 AND 1/2 x 45 AND 1/2 FEET... ALL OUTSIDE WALLS ABOVE THE WATER TABLE WILL BE TWELVE INCHES IN THICKNESS, TO BE OF THE BEST QUALITY OF LANCASTER BRICK." (A)
IN 1894, THE COUNTY DECIDED TO ADD A SHERIFF'S RESIDENCE TO THE FRONT OF THE JAIL BUILDING. LOCAL BUILDERS, MUESSE & PATCH, WERE AWARDED THE CONTRACT FOR THE 46 x 26 FEET ADDITION THAT CONTINUED THE ITALIANATE DESIGN OF THE EARLIER STRUCTURE. IN 1900, COUNTY HISTORAN CASTELLO HOLFORD REMARKED THAT "THE RESIDENCE AND JAIL TOGETHER MAKE A FINE-LOOKING BUILDING AND ONE OF WHICH THE COUNTY MAY BE PROUD." (B)
THE BUILDING HOUSED THE COUNTY JAIL UNTIL 1958 WHEN A NEW FACILITY, LOCATED AT THE CITY'S NORTHERN LIMITS, WAS COMPLETED. AFTER AN INTERIOR RENOVATION, THE SOCIAL SERVICES DIVISION MOVED INTO THE STRUCTURE. (C)
HISTORICAL STATEMENT:
HISTORICALLY, THE FORMER GRANT COUNTY JAIL (AND ATTACHED RESIDENCE) REPRESENTS ONE PHASE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. BASED ON ENGLISH PRACTICE, THE DUAL-PURPOSE FACILITY WAS BOTH A PRACTICAL AND ECONOMICAL ARRANGEMENT. FOR EXAMPLE, IN MANY COUNTIES, THE SHERIFF'S FAMILY, A READILY AVAILABLE SOURCE OF LABOR, WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF THE BUILDING AND THE PREPARATION OF MEALS FOR THE INMATES. (D)
"At the southwest corner of Jefferson and Maple Streets was the third county jail. the first two jails were located on the site of the Muesse & Brooker Block building. This building, constructed in 1872, was used as a jail until 1957, when it was converted into offices by the county. In 1998 the new Grant County Administration Building was erected on that corner." Lancaster's Historic Courthouse Square |
|---|
| Bibliographic References: | LANCASTER GRANT COUNTY HERALD INDEPENDENT 2/23/1995.
A. FENNIMORE TIMES (GRANT COUNTY CENTENNIAL EDITION), SEPTEMBER 1936.
B. CASTELLO HOLFORD, HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY, WISCONSIN, (LANCASTER: THE TELLER PRINT, 1900), P. 77.
C. NEWSPAPER ARTICLE, NO CITATION, LOCATED IN VERTICAL FILES FOR WASHBURN COUNTY JAIL, HISTORIC PRESERVATION DIVISION, STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
E. SOUVENIR OF LANCASTER, 1900.
STUDY UNITS:
1. COUNTY GOVERNMENT.
Boscobel Dial 9/11/1997.
2005, Timothy F. Heggland. National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Courthouse Square Historic District, Lancaster, WI.
Lancaster's Historic Courthouse Square, Lancaster Historic Preservation Commission, 2006. |
|---|
