Property Record
109 S PARK AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | McDermott, William and Annie, House |
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| Reference Number: | 54807 |
| Location (Address): | 109 S PARK AVE |
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| County: | Fond du Lac |
| City: | Fond du Lac |
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| Year Built: | 1899 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 20101991 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Queen Anne |
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| Wall Material: | Clapboard |
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| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | McDermott, William and Annie, House |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 9/9/2014 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 11/22/2013 |
| 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 Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation-Public History. 1991: This large two-and-one-half story Queen Anne house has a complex hip and gable roof with projecting bays and gables. A three-story round tower projects from the corner of the house. The house is covered with narrow clapboard siding and wood shingles. Windows are irregular in size and placement. They consist of single light sashes, large lights with decorative transoms, openings with muntins in a diamond pattern, and a Palladian style window in the main gable end. There are two main porches, one covering the side entrance, the other wrapping around a side of the house. They feature round columns sitting on limestone piers and supporting flat roofs. While not overly decorated with stickwork, this house shows the style in its rambling and expansive form and massing, an irregular plan, and typical details such as a tower and veranda. A grand house, it is one of the best examples of the style in the city. 2010-2011 Intensive Survey Report Info: Rising from a coursed stone foundation, this two-and-one-half-story, transitional Queen Anne-Colonial Revival-style house is largely sheathed with clapboard, however, gabled peaks are covered with wooden shingles. The house is anchored by a three-story tower with a conical cap at its northwest corner; the first-floor windows feature an upper pane of leaded glass, while the uppermost level also includes decorative, diamond-shaped wooden trim. A large open porch wraps around the home's northeast corner and features simple wooden columns and a replacement metal railing; a porte cochere extends even further to the east. A second, smaller porch, also with wooden column supports and replacement railing is located along S. Park Avenue. Both the west and north gabled ends feature slightly flared eaves under which are modillion-like brackets. A Palladian-inspired window rests within the north-facing gable and also retains original diamond-shaped wooden trim. Based on a circa-1904 photo of the home, exterior alterations appear to be limited to the replacement of the original wooden railings and balustrades with the existing metal examples. Although it appears that William McDermott resided at the subject location as early as 1887, deeds suggest that he did not acquire the subject property until 1891 and, therefore, it is believed that the house was built shortly thereafter. McDermott was born in Ireland in 1846 and came to the United States with his family that same year. After residing first in Washington County, Wisconsin, the family then moved to the Town of Byron, Fond du Lac County in 1855. In 1867, McDermott moved to Fond du Lac and worked in the insurance business of L.M. Wyatt. Five years later, he started his own insurance, loan and real estate firm and, by 1880 he is noted to have fourteen such companies. In 1868, McDermott married Annie Duffie and they had six children. Two of the children died in infancy. William died in 1922 and, as of 1924, the house is identified as vacant. By no later than 1928, the house is under the ownership of Edwin Galloway, the vice president of Galloway-West, dairy products. A sign in front of the house as of July 2011, indicates that it is the future home of The Dobranoc Inn, a bed & breakfast. [This named bed and breakfast ceased to exist in 2013 when new ownership of the house occurred.] The house, despite an exact, confirmed date of construction, is a very good and intact example of the transition between the Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles. Although other such examples exist within the recently National Register-listed East Division Street-Sheboygan Street Residential Historic District, this one compares favorably. 2013 Tax Roll review: Tax rolls were not reviewed for the 2010-11 survey. However, following their review in 2013, tax rolls clearly identify that the house was built in 1899. McDermott resided in a house adjacent to the east of this lot prior to the construction of 109 S. Park Street. As of 1899, the original valuation was cited as $1,700 (for the existing house). Handwritten in pencil below was $5,860; this is assumed to be the combined valuation of the old house and the new house. As of 1900, the valuation is cited as $4,000, which is presumed to be the new house only. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) Fond du Lac City Directories. (B) Sanborn-Perris Maps - Fond du Lac. (C) Fond du Lac Tax Rolls. (D) Carol Cartwright, City of Fond du Lac Intensive Survey Report, Fond du Lac: City of Fond du Lac, 1992. See the 2010-2011 Intensive Survey Report for citations for the material below. Fond du Lac Tax Rolls (at UW-O) reviewed in 2013. See correction material at the end of Additional Comments. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |