Property Record
1706 CONGRESS AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | PAINE BARN |
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| Other Name: | PAINE BARNS/STORAGE |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 66790 |
| Location (Address): | 1706 CONGRESS AVE |
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| County: | Winnebago |
| City: | Oshkosh |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
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| Year Built: | 1925 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1980 |
| Historic Use: | barn |
| Architectural Style: | Astylistic Utilitarian Building |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Wood |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Paine Lumber Company Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 6/26/1986 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | A 'site file' (Paine Lumber Company Historic District) 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. ARCHITECTURAL STATEMENT: THE FRAME BARNS WERE CONSTRUCTED AT A COST OF $35,000 IN 1925 TO HOUSE FORTY HORSES USED AT THE PAINE PLANT (A). THE BARNS HAVE GAMBREL ROOFS WITH SHED ROOFED DORMERS. #25 IS PART OF THE PAINE MUSEUM ARBORETUM. THE PAINE BARN IS USED FOR STORAGE. ONLY THE BARN IS LISTED. ALSO INCLUDED ON THE PROPERTY WERE THE PAINE LUMBER COMPANY INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS. THE PAINE INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS DOMINATE A SITE ON THE EAST BANK OF THE FOX RIVER. THE MAIN FACTORY BUILDING IS CONSTRUCTED OF CREAM BRICK AND RISES FOUR STORIES, TO A MONITOR ROOF. BRICK PIERS RISE THE FULL HEIGHT OF THE STRUCTRUE, SEPARATING LARGE RECTANGUALR WINDOWS. ADDITIONAL STRUCTURES AND WAREHOUSES ARE PRIMARILY ONE AND TWO STORIES. THE MAJORITY OF THE EARLY INDUSTRIAL STRUCTURES REMAINING IN OSHKOSH HAVE BEEN COVERED WITH METAL SIDING. ARCHITECTURALLY, THE PAINE CO. AND MORGAN LUMBER ARE THE MOST DISTINCTIVE, WITH PAINE REPRESENTING A LATER PERIOD OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN AND CONSEQUENTLY LACKING THE DETAILS OF THE MORGAN CO. (OS 4/11). HISTORICAL STATEMENT: THE PAINE LUMBER CO. WAS FORMED BY EDWARD N. PAINE AND HIS TWO SONS, CHARLES AND GEORGE, IN 1853. PAINE BROUGHT HIS MACHINERY WITH HIM FROM NEW YORK STATE TO FORM THE NEW ENTERPRISE. THE PLANT STILL OCCUPIES THE ORIGINAL MILL SITE. IN 1884 A SASH AND DOOR FACTORY OPENED NEXT TO THE LUMBERMILL. THE ENTIRE PLANT WAS DESTROYED BY FIRE IN 1895 BUT REBUILT THE SAME YEAR. THESE BUILDINGS ARE CORE OF THE PRESENT PLANT. IN 1904, THE PAINES OPENED A HARDWOOD VENEER PALNT ACROSS THE RIVER FROM THE MAIN PLANT AND BEGAN PIONEERING WORK IN THIS AREA. THE COMPANY BEGAN TO GROW AND AT ITS PEAK IN 1929, IT WAS THE LARGEST EMPLOYER IN OSHKOSH WITH OVER 2,200 PEOPLE. IT CLAIMED TO BE THE LARGEST SASH AND DOOR MANUFACTURER IN THE WORLD. AFTER 1929, THE COMPANY'S FORTUNES DECLINED WITH A GREAT DEAL OF CORRESPONDING LOCAL UNEMPLOYMENT. IN 1937, THE FIRM BEGAN TO MANUFACTURE THE COMPARATIVELY NEW HOLLOW-CORE DOOR AND HAS BEEN IN THAT FIELD EVER SINCE. (B/C/D). THE INFORMATION CARDS SHOW THESE BUILDINGS, EXCEPT THE PAINE BARN, ARE DEMOLOSHED. THE COMPLETE MAP CODE IS LARGE SCALE 17/25 AND 17/26. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. OSHKOSH DAILY NORTHWESTERN, JAN. 3, 1925, P. 14. B. INTERVIEW WITH D. CLYDE BUCKSTAFF, PRES. OF PAINE LUMBER CO. 05/13/81. C. 100 YEARS OF PAINE LUMBER CO., LTD. CENTENNIAL BOOKLET, 1953. D. OSHKOSH DAILY NORTHWESTERN, MARCH 22, 1972. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |