Property Record
N SIDE OF TEMPLE AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | MURPHY-TEMPLE HOUSE |
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| Other Name: | |
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| Reference Number: | 66709 |
| Location (Address): | N SIDE OF TEMPLE AVE |
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| County: | Lafayette |
| City: | Benton |
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| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1836 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1982 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Side Gabled |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Asphalt |
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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: | A frame clapboard sided (now asbestos shingled) two story that has a sloping roof, a stone foundation, and a small frame extension at the rear. An unusual inset porch or loggia that has Neo-classical/Rennaissance Revival paneling and wainscoating decorating the three interior walls that surround the porch. A grand sidelighted entrance door with a long series of lights in the transom accents the structure. Restrained pedimented window hoods decorate the windows of the front and side facades. In the interior of the house there are 10 foot ceilings downstairs, bedrooms 15 ft. square and a ballroom sized attic. The architectural importance of this house lies in its role as a very early example of frame domestic architecture in the community of Benton, as well as in the State of Wisconsin. Apparently it has been altered little over the years on the interior; but the exterior was altered by the addition of siding c. 1970. A substantial farmstead of the Murphy family and their descendents till the 1960s, this vernacular house of classical Rennaissance influence has been a visual landmark in Benton since the early years of its development. This house is historicall significant because of its association with Dennis Murphy, a pioneer settler of Benton. Dennis murphy moved with his father, Andrew Murphy and his four brothers to Mill Seat Bend in 1827, where they consequently built a mill powered by water. Millseat Bend is about 1 mile out of the present village. Dennis and his brother entered into a contract for the land on which Benton lies today, at on eof the first land sales in 1834. Dennis later obtained all of the land located at Benton when the partnership dissolved. The Village of Benton was platted in 1844. Dennis probably built this house somtime in the 1840s. There are however, conflicting reports on the exact date. Dennis Murphy, born in Ireland in 1800, was prominent in the early devlopment of the Community and the State. He built a hotel called the American House in Benton. It served as an early inn in the mid-1850s. He also donated three separate parcels on which the three churches in Benton were built. Murphy alsowas a representative to the territorial legislature convened at Belmont in 1836. He was also a State Senator. He served as the first postamster of benton and Justice of the Peace. Murphy invested in land in Grant County and Jo Daviess County, Illinois. He also owned rich lead deposits. He died in 1875. Murphy's daughter, Margaret, married T.K. Gibson. They inherited the Murphy home. Around the turn of the century, they sold it to John Temple, a farmer in the area. Murphy founded Benton. Root cellar on site. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) "Historic Structure Inventory Book," p. 293. (B) Walter Calvert, Benton, WI 10/12/82. (B) Interview with Thomas Dawson 10/12/82. (C) Interview with Wacker Bainbridge 10/12/82. (D) Journal May 12, 1972. (E) W.W. Murphy, "Benton, New Diggings and the Irish Emigration in Lafayette County." (F) Darlington Republican Journal Aug. 19, 1909. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |