Property Record
411-413 S 5TH ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | G. Dorsch; Charles J. Habhegger; John Habhegger |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 7098 |
| Location (Address): | 411-413 S 5TH ST |
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| County: | Jefferson |
| City: | Watertown |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1890 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1986 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Dutch Colonial Revival |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
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| 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. Shingled gambrel ends; triangular pediment shaped wooden projecting window heads; triple window with cornice in front gambrel and recessed window with Tuscan columns in south gambrel; bay windows; four round arched windows in shed dormer. This house was the home of Charles Habhegger, a local physician, around 1907, and was also the home of John Habhegger, a local manufacturer, from c. 1893 to at least 1919. In 1906-07, Dr. Thomas Shinnick and Dr. Charles Habhegger established the first hospital in the community--St. Mary's Hospital at 1301 E. Main St. This hospital grew into the main community hospital of Watertown during the twentieth century and today's Watertown Memorial Hospital is a direct descendent of this effort. John Habhegger was born in 1844 in Switzerland. He came to Watertown as a boy in 1853. In 1867 he had a general store which he operated until 1890. In 1890 he began making cheese under the name of Jossi and Habhegger. In 1897 he sold out his business to Jossi and began a new plant. It was incorporated as the John Habhegger Company, a cheese manufacturing plant. The establishment of the first major hospital in Watertown in 1906-07 was a milestone in the community's history. Since Dr. Charles Habhegger lived here at the time he helped establish this hospital, this house is significant for its association with him, especially since the original historic hospital building is no longer extant. This was also the home of John Habhegger while he was expanding his career into cheese manufacturing, becoming one of the most significant persons in this industry in the community. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) Watertown City Directories, 1866-1930, Watertown, Wisconsin Public Library. (B) Watertown, Wisconsin Centennial 1854-1954, Watertown: Jansky Printing Company, 1954, pp. 70-72. (C) "St. Mary's Hospital Began to Render Service in 1907 From Main Street Residence," Watertown Daily Times Centennial Issue, June 26, 1954, n.p. (D) Jon H. Ott, Ed., Jefferson County Wisconsin and its People, Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1917, p. 236-237. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |