| Additional Information: | 2017-2018 Report Recommendation Write-Up: Rising two-and-one-half stories, this Gothic Revival-style gabled ell-form house is sheathed with vinyl. A Colonial Revival-inspired, flat-roofed porch with columnar supports extends along the front, with a porte cochere extending to the east. A two-story bay window projection is located along both the southerly and easterly elevations, while a two-story, multi-sided tower with a conical roof is located on the northerly elevation. Windows throughout the house are a combination of rectangular and Gothic-arched examples. Also located on the property is the former St. John’s in the Wilderness Chapel (1873; AHI#236387, moved to the grounds in 1959); an outbuilding (AHI#236388); Caretaker’s House (AHI#236389), Water Fountain (original to the Knapp grounds; AHI#236390); Episcopal Diocese Conference Center (AHI#236391); and Wantland Hall (1996; AHI#236392).
This house was built between 1862 and 1863 for John Holly and Valeria Knapp. Born in New York in 1825, John Holly Knapp grew up in Ft. Madison, Iowa, a city founded by his father Gen. John H. Knapp. In 1846, the younger Knapp, along with Capt. William Wilson, came to present-day Menomonie and purchased of David Black a half interest in a sawmill on the Red Cedar River. Black died shortly thereafter and Knapp purchased the other half; this resulted in the firm of J.H. Knapp & Co., with Wilson as a silent partner. In 1850, the firm’s ownership expanded to include Capt. Andrew Tainter and the firm was renamed Knapp & Tainter. Three years later (in 1853), a fourth owner joined the group, that of Henry L. Stout. With holdings in four different states, Knapp, Stout & Co. was formally established in 1878 as a corporation, with Knapp serving as president.
Prior to 1863, John Holly Knapp made frequent trips between Ft. Madison and Menomonie. In 1860, he contemplated the construction of a summer residence for his family in Menomonie and construction of the house began in May of 1862 with men that Knapp brought with him from Ft. Madison. Although it was initially “hard to find the right kind of lumber” for its construction, as of 5 January 1863, Knapp noted that the carpenter work would be done in about a week to ten days. Almost three weeks later carpenter work was complete and shavings were being cleared out. In June of 1863, the Knapp family moved to their newly built home in Menomonie not only for the summer but permanently. Due to ill health, Knapp resigned as company president in 1886 and he died in 1888. The Knapp family continued to own and reside in the home. Valeria died in 1914 and the property was, thereafter, maintained by their daughter Effie. As a result of financial issues, Effie sold the property in circa 1940 to her attorney, C. Thomas Bundy.
The Bundy family, which resided in Eau Claire, utilized the residence as a summer home for a number of years. Following the death of his wife May, Bundy planned to give the estate to the Episcopal Diocese of Eau Claire; but before that could happen, Bundy himself died. His children fulfilled his wish and gave the property to the Diocese in 1949 in memory of their parents, with the stipulation that the property be used as a religious retreat center. From 1949 until 2012 it was owned by the Diocese and it functioned as a retreat and summer camp, during which time St. John’s in the Wilderness Chapel was moved to the grounds from Star Prairie, Wisconsin, and other support buildings erected. Citing high maintenance costs, the property was put up for sale in 2008. In 2012, a re-zoning of the property was requested but declined, which negated the potential for its use as a Bed & Breakfast, as well as a potential wedding venue. That same year, the Diocese sold a number of paintings from the home (which were part of the Knapp family collection) in order to maintain the property. In 2013, the property was sold to the Minnesota Vipassana Association and has since been used as a retreat center. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Dunn County News, 5/17/78, p.1.
Eau Claire Leader Telegram 8/4/2003.
Citations for information below:
Curtiss-Wedge and Jones, eds., History of Dunn County, Wisconsin, 835-38; Larry Lynch and John M. Russell, Where the Wild Rice Grows: A Sesquicentennial Portrait of Menomonie, Wisconsin, 1846-1986 (Menomonie, WI: Sesquicentennial Commission, 1986), 48-51.
Diaries of John Holly Knapp, 1825-1888, Located at the UW-Stout Archives and Area Research Center, Available online at http://archives.lib.uwstout.edu/ics-wpd/Knapp_Diaries/knappjohn.html, Accessed August 2018; “Bundy Hall: Home of the John Holly Knapp Family,” Available online at www.dunnhistory.org/history/exbundy.html, Accessed July 2018.
“History of the Diocese of Eau Claire, 1928-1978,” 22-page booklet available online at http://episcopaldioceseofeauclaire.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/1978-dio-history.pdf, Accessed May 2018; Dan Lyksatt, “Tour Taps Insight of Past Resident,” Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, 14 November 1998, 18/1-3; Barbara Lyon, “Diocese to Auction Bundy Hall Art Treasures,” Available online at https://chippewa.com/dunnconnect/news/local/diocese-to-auction-bundy-hall-art-treasures/article_92885ec0-3b56-11e2-89d6-001a4bc887a.html, Accessed May 2018; Barbara Lyon, “Bundy Hall Changes Hands,” Available online at https://chippewa.com/dunnconnect/news/local/bundy-hall-changes-hands/article_5949f170-ee55-11e2-b427-001a4bcf887a.html, Accessed May 2018. |
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