Property Record
306 HIGH ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | MASONIC TEMPLE |
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| Other Name: | MASONIC TEMPLE |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 60215 |
| Location (Address): | 306 HIGH ST |
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| County: | Iowa |
| City: | Mineral Point |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
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| Year Built: | 1897 |
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| Additions: | 1924 |
| Survey Date: | 19821993 |
| Historic Use: | social recreational/fraternal hall |
| Architectural Style: | Other Vernacular |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | CHARLES, JOHN |
| 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 TWO-STORY BUILDING WAS DESIGNED IN THE OTHER VERNACULAR STYLE BY ARCHITECT JOHN CHARLES (SEE BIB. REF. D), AND WAS CONSTRUCTED IN 1897 BY WHITFORD AND SONS, ENCENROTH, CROWLEY AND ELLERY BROS. (SEE BIB. REF. C). THE STRUCTURE FEATURES A RECTANGULAR SHAPED PLAN CONFIGURATION, A RUSTICATED STONE FOUNDATION, A BRICK EXTERIOR, A STONE TRIM AND A HIP ROOF. A CENTRAL BRICK CHIMNEY IS FLANKED FROM BELOW BY TWO, HIP-ROOFED WALL DORMERS, LOCATED ON THE FACADE. STONE SILLS AND LINTELS ADORN THE WIDOWS THROUGHOUT THE BUILDING. APPEARING ABOVE THE DOUBLE-DOORED ENTRANCES ARE STONE PEDIMENTS UPON WHICH ARE INSCRIBED "MASONIC TEMPLE," AND "MASONIC CLUB." THE DATE, "1897," IS LOCATED ON THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF THE BUILDING. THE STRUCTURE IS IN GOOD CONDITION. THE BUILDING WAS CONSTRUCTED AS A HOME FOR MINERAL POINT LODGE NO. 1, THE FIRST IN WISCONSIN, ORGANIZED IN 1841. THE MASONIC TEMPLE WAS USED AS A MEETING HALL FROM 1897 TO 1929. (SEE BIB. REF. A). THE BUILDING WAS DESIGNATED LOCALLY, BECOMING PART OF THE MINERAL POINT LANDMARK DISTRICT IN 1972. The clubroom at the west end was added in 1924. [G] 2012- "Constructed in 1897, the Masonic Temple was designed by Mineral Point architect John Charles and built by local contractors, Whitford and Sons, Enzenroth & Crowley and Ellery Bros. The clubroom on the west was added in 1924. Mineral Point Lodge No. 1, Free and Accepted Masons, was organized in 1840 under a dispensation granted by the grand Lodge of Missouri; Gen. William R. Smith was elected the first Worshipful Master. The Masonic Hall was on the second floor of 110 High Street until May, 1897, when it was destroyed by fire. The Masons were able to save their original charter, but little else. A few weeks later they decided to rebuild at this location." -from "A Field Guide to Mineral Point" by Nancy Pfotenhauer of the Mineral Point Historical Society, 1st Edition, 2012, Little Creek Press. |
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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. "MINERAL POINT TRIBUNE," 27 MAY 1897, 5 AUGUST 1897, 24 FEBRUARY 1898; "IOWA COUNTY DEMOCRAT," 16 SEPTEMBER 1897, 23 SEPTEMBER 1897, 24 FEBRUARY 1898; SANOBRN MAP, CITY OF MINERAL POINT, WI. (NEW YORK: SANBORN MAP CO., 1884-1929); CORNERSTONE LOCATED ON THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF THE BUILDING. Gays Mills-Soldiers Grove, Crawford Co. Independent and the Kickapoo Scout 11/13/2003. B. SERENA NELSON, INTERVIEW WITH JOAN RAUSCH, MINERAL POINT, WI., 11 APRIL 1992. C. "IOWA COUNTY DEMOCRAT," 24 FEBRUARY 1898. D. "MINERAL POINT TRIBUNE," 27 MAY 1897. Historic Mineral Point Architectural Walking Tour brochure, 2000. E. From Mining to Farm Fields to Ethnic Communities: Buildings and Landscapes of Southwestern Wisconsin. Ed. Anna Vemer Andrzejewski , Arnold R. Alanen and Sarah Fayen Scarlett for “Nature + City: Vernacular Buildings and Landscapes of the Upper Midwest,” 2012 Meeting of the Vernacular Architecture Forum (VAF) in Madison, Wisconsin. F. Mineral Point Chamber/Main Street & The Mineral Point Historical Society, Historic Mineral Point Architectural Driving Tour, not dated. G. Mineral Point Chamber/Main Street & The Mineral Point Historical Society, Historic Mineral Point Architectural Walking Tours, not dated. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |