Property Record
269 HIGH ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | MINERAL POINT POST OFFICE |
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| Other Name: | MINERAL POINT POST OFFICE |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 60211 |
| Location (Address): | 269 HIGH ST |
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| County: | Iowa |
| City: | Mineral Point |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
| Section: | |
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| Year Built: | 1924 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 19821993 |
| Historic Use: | post office |
| Architectural Style: | Colonial Revival/Georgian Revival |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | JAMES A. WETMORE |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Mineral Point Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 7/30/1971 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | THIS ONE STORY POST OFFICE BUILDING WAS DESIGNED BY JAMES WETMORE (SEE BIB. REF. D) AND CONSTRUCTED BY F. R. COMB OF MINNEAPOLIS (SEE BIB. REF. C) BETWEEN THE YEARS 1924 AND 1925 (SEE BIB. REF A). THE STRUCTURE FEATURES A RECTANGULAR SHAPED PLAN CONFIGURATION, A CONCRETE FOUNDATION, A RED BRICK EXTERIOR, A CONCRETE AND WOOD TRIM, AND A FLAT ROOF. THE CORNICE AND THE WATERTABLE ARE HIGHLIGHTED WITH CONCRETE. THE CENTRAL ENTRANCE - WITH ITS CLASSICAL FRONTIS PIECE FEATURING PILASTERS, A PEDIMENT AND DENTIL TRIM BOTH BENEATH AND INSIDE THE PEDIMENT - IS REMINICENT OF THE GEORGIAN REVIVAL INFLUENCE. PLACED WITHIN ARCHED BAYS ARE SIX-OVER-SIX WINDOWS. THE STRUCTURE IS IN GOOD CONDITION. THE MINERAL POINT POST OFFICE, AS THE BUILDING WAS HISTORICALLY KNOWN, STILL FUNCTIONS TO THIS DAY AS A POST OFFICE. IT BEGAN OPERATIONS IN 1924. (SEE BIB. REF. A). ACCORDING TO THE INVENTORY CARD DESCRIBING THIS PROPERTY, THE POST OFFICE WAS ORIGINALLY OCCUPIED IN JULY 1925. ANOTHER SHSW COMPLIANCE NUMBER FOR THIS BUILDING IS 85-1105/IA. THE BUILDING WAS DESIGNATED LOCALLY, BECOMING PART OF THE MINERAL POINT LANDMARK DISTRICT IN 1972. From "A Field Guide to Mineral Point" by Nancy Pfotenhauer of the Mineral Point Historical Society, 1st Edition, 2012, Little Creek Press: "Designed by James Wetmore and constructed by F.R. Comb of Minneapolis in 1924. Wetmore was the Acting Supervising Architect of the U.S. from 1915 through 1933 and his name appears on the cornerstones of approximately 2,000 federal buildings. The first post office in Mineral Point, in 1834, was in John Ansley's store at the corner of Commerce and Fountain streets; in 1836 William Henry was postmaster and the office was in his log house, on the corner of Henry and fountain streets; later he moved it to High Street, in the vicinity of what is now 249 High. For the next 31 years, whenever a new President was elected, a new postmaster was appointed and he established the post office in a place most convenient for him. In 1841 J.T. Lathrop kept the post office in his hotel, the Franklin House, on the same corner where today's post office is located. In 1845 Henry Plowman moved it to his house, on the corner of Chestnut Street and Jail Alley; in 1849 Joseph Smith dispensed mail from his book store, somewhere near 245 High; in 1853 Stephen Thomas moved it to 257 High, then to the corner of High and Chestnut. By 1865 it was in the former County building next to the old courthouse. Finally, in 1867 Philip Lawrence moved it to 151 High Street where it seems to have stayed until this modern building was built, especially for a post office, in 1924." |
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| Bibliographic References: | “Architecture/History Survey: Reconstruct USH 151: Dodgeville To Belmont.” WHS project number 92-0510IA/LT. October 1993. Prepared by Great Lakes Archaeological Research Center (GLARC). A. SANBORN MAP, CITY OF MINERAL POINT. WI. (NEW YORK: SANBORN MAP CO., 1884-1929); CORNERSTONE; POST OFFICE COLLECTION, U.S. POST OFFICE, MINERAL POINT, WI. B. WPA WRITERS PROGRAM, 1941, "THE STORY OF MINERAL POINT, 1827-1941." (MINERAL POINT HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 1979), P. 173. C. "MINERAL POINT TRIBUNE," 7 APRIL 1924. D. CORNERSTONE. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |