Property Record
512 MULBERRY ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Robert Fargo House |
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| Other Name: | "Heartease" |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 6989 |
| Location (Address): | 512 MULBERRY ST |
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| County: | Jefferson |
| City: | Lake Mills |
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| Year Built: | 1869 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 19752018 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Italianate |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Cream Brick |
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| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Mulberry Street Residential Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 6/7/2019 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 11/30/2018 |
| 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 State Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation. PAIRED WINDOWS W/MOULDED HOODS. As of 2013, a cupola was reconstructed on the building. 2016- "This this two-story ltalianate house known as the "Heart Ease" or "Heartsease" house was constructed by Robert Fargo in 1869. It is constructed of cream brick, has an irregular plan, and rests on a raised stone foundation. The house has a low-pitched hip roof with wide cornice and simple frieze, an ocular window in the front gable, and a c.1990 cupola. The recently reconstructed cupola has a hip roof with overhanging eaves and four arched, single-pane, fixed windows on each elevation. The symmetrical front (west) facade features a prominent two-story gable projecting bay with a hip roof entry porch supported by square wood columns and turned wood balustrades, and the original, paired, wood panel entrance doors and wood surround with pilasters. A small, enclosed, frame porch with one-over-one, double-hung sash windows provides access to the side (south) elevation. A two-story historic-age wing is located at the rear (east) elevation. A modern two-car garage has been added to the rear. The side (north) elevation was obscured by trees and not visible. Windows are a combination of single and paired, one-over-one, double-hung sash with wood pediments and surrounds and stone sills. According to research, the only exterior alterations include the removal of the cupola, which has since been replaced, and the rear garage addition. In 1869 Robert Fargo bought four acres of land from his brother Enoch B. Fargo and hired a Milwaukee architect to design and build the house. This is the second and final home owned by Robert Fargo, prominent Lake Mills businessman and citizen. After Fargo's death in 1908, the house was rented to a series of families until it was sold to Charles Panzer, a local photographer. In 1928 Panzer traded houses with Dr. Thompson of Madison, who operated his practice on the second floor of the residence between 1928 and 1946. Research was able to confirm members of the Thompson family continued to reside in the house up to 1996." -"CTH A: Madison St to Grant St", WisDOT#3638-00-72/73, Prepared by Mead & Hunt, Inc., (2016). Note: Liebenow states that this house was designed by a Milwaukee architect, but no name or source is given for this information. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Lake Mills Leader 11/21/1996. Fort Atkinson Daily Jefferson County Union 12/4/1996. Historic Homes of Lake Mills: Five Walking Tours. Lake Mills-Atzalan Historical Society. n.d., p. 43, illustrated. Lake Mills Leader: April 4, 1895, p. 3; April 9, 1903, p. 5; August 29, 1907, p. 3; November 22, 2007, p. 5. Roland R. Liebenow. People, Their Places, and Things. Lake Mills, n.d., p. 47. Mary M. Wilson. A History of Lake Mills: Creating a Society. Lake Mills, 1983, p. 279. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |