Property Record
203 HOYT ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | WILLIAM AND ANNIE COLE HOUSE |
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| Other Name: | |
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| Reference Number: | 46798 |
| Location (Address): | 203 HOYT ST |
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| County: | Fond du Lac |
| City: | Fond du Lac |
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| Year Built: | 1880 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2010 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Early Gothic Revival |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Clapboard |
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| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | Photo code #2: 74FD-29/18,19. 1988: This Gothic Revival house has one and one half stories and a steeply pitched gable roof with projecting gables. The gables are all decorated with elaborate scroll bargeboard. Windows are largely single light sashes with simple cornice lintels. In the main block is a set of round arched, narrow windows decorated with a fancy round arched architrave molding. It has the steeply-pitched roofline and bargeboard that are typical of the style. But the most interesting detail is the building's form and massing, when viewed from the side has the appearance of a simple interpretation of a Davis and Downing cottage. This was the home of William and Annie Cole between 1884 and 1917. William Cole was a private banker and owner of the Cole Savings Bank. 2010-2011 Intensive Survey Info: Rising from a stone foundation, this Gothic Revival-style house is sheathed with clapboard and features three scrollwork vergeboards with finials, a hallmark of the style. The house, which is essentially gabled ell in form, features an enclosed porch with a shed roof and simple wooden posts. Windows along the primary (south) elevation are all rectangular sash examples, except for the paired tall-and-narrow, round-arched window within the peak. A one-story, rectangular bay extends from the home's east endwall and a second porch is located along the east elevation/N. Park Street. The east elevation features two additional examples of the decorative scrollwork vergeboards. Although earlier information suggests a circa 1880 date of construction, the subject house, or at least a portion thereof, appears to have been built between 1867 and 1870 based on the sale price of the property, which rose from $650 to $3,000. If that is the case, then the house was originally built by James & Montague Marshall. Within three years, the home was sold to Leroy Graves, the founder of the community of Gravesville in Calumet County, where he was the first to build a sawmill in 1849. After moving to Fond du Lac in 1866, Graves worked as a lumberman, jobber of dry goods and notions, as well as a real estate dealer. The house would transfer ownership to Ebenezer Austin, who at the time of sale was a resident of the Town of Calumet. Indeed, the 1872-73 Fond du Lac City Directory identifies an E.J. Austin as residing at 21 Hoyt Street. As of 1877, the property was sold to Jonathan P. Rolison who, in 1880, is identified as living at 23 Hoyt Street. The following year, the house would indeed be sold to William E. & Annie Cole. William E. Cole was born in New York in 1844 and came to Fond du Lac in 1868, where he established with a partner a men's furnishings store known as Hoyt & Cole. After twenty years of operating the privately held First National Bank, he established the Cole Savings Bank. Cole is cited as being instrumental in getting the Soo Line to locate their shops in Fond du Lac in 1900. Cole died on 4 April 1909 and his widow remained in the home until her death in 1917. The house remained in the Cole family through at least 1930. Although little information was found regarding the home's earlier owners, further research is suggested in regards to William Cole and his accomplishments while in residence at 203 Hoyt Street. In addition, tax rolls should be reviewed in order to fully confirm the date of construction. Finally, the house is one of the few houses in the City of Fond du Lac to retain its decorative scrollwork bargeboards. The Cole home compares favorably with the Simmons house located at 197 Sheboygan Street, which is a contributing property in the East Division-Sheboygan Street Residential Historic District. The house stands as one of the few examples of the Gothic Revival style in the city. |
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| Bibliographic References: | CITY DIRECTORIES. FOND DU LAC REPORTER, 6/29/1995. A. City Directories for the City of Fond du Lac, on file at the Fond du Lac Public Library, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. B. Sanborn-Perris Maps for the City of Fond du Lac, on file in the Archives of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. C. Tax Rolls for the City of Fond du Lac, on file in the Area Research center of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Library, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. D. Carol Cartwright, City of Fond du Lac Intensive Survey Report, Fond du Lac: City of Fond du Lac, 1992. See 2010-2011 Intensive Survey Report for citations for material below. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |