Property Record
600 S 3RD ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Fred Miller House |
|---|---|
| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 7085 |
| Location (Address): | 600 S 3RD ST |
|---|---|
| County: | Jefferson |
| City: | Watertown |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
| Section: | |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1889 |
|---|---|
| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2005 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Queen Anne |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Cream Brick |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | A 'site file' titled "Memorial Park 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. Previously surveyed in 1986. This was the home of Fred Miller, a businessman, between c. 1900 and c. 1920. Fred Miller was a grain dealer, an executive of the local gas company, and the president of the Wisconsin National Bank. This was the home of Fred Miller, a successful produce merchant between c. 1890 and at least 1919. Miller was a produce merchant during the late nineteenth century, dealing primarily in grain. In 1888, he partnered with Herman Wertheimer in the Watertown Grain Company, one of the most important grain and agricultural produce dealerships in the city. Eventually the Wertheimer family took control of the company. Miller was also an executive of the Watertown Gas Company. Prior to his involvement in the wholesale business, Miller was involved in milling, in particular, the Globe Milling Company, the largest of the turn of the century flour mills in the city. While there is not a great deal known about the career of Fred Miller, he was involved with some of Watertown's most important businesses. He helped form the successful Globe Milling Company, was involved in the Watertown Gas Company, and helped found the important Watertown Grain Company. Because of his associations with these businesses, the Fred Miller house is historically significant. It is also contributing within the proposed Memorial Park Historic District. Exhibiting the combined form of the hip and gable roofed type of the Queen Anne style, this cream brick house displays multiple projections and irregular surfaces. The smooth brick surfaces contrast with the decoratively shingled gable ends, the two-story mansard roofed bay window on the southeast corner ornamented with cresting on the roof curb, shingles on the roof, second story pent roof and apron and stained glass windows, and the decked south bay window featuring cresting around the deck. An open full-length spindle porch with balustrade, gabled and turned posts covering the doube leafed entrance door and a rear porch are additional features of this elaborate house. The Miller house is significant as an example of the Queen Anne style in Watertown. One of the few good brick examples of the Queen Anne style remaining in the city, this house exhibits the common Queen Anne hipped roof with multiple cross gables and multiple overhangs and projections that provide the irregularity of form and wall surface essential to this picturesque style. Other significant extant examples of the Queen Anne style in the city constructed in brick are the houses at 400 No. Washington (22-21), 305 No. Washington (55-30), 512 So. 5th (41-2), and 600 Clyman St. (43-20). |
|---|---|
| Bibliographic References: | (A) Watertown City Directories, 1866-1930, Watertown Public Library. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |