| Additional Information: | 1982: A FRAME (NOW SIDED) CROSS-SHAPED TWO-STORY HOUSE WITH A HIP ROOF INTERSECTED BY GABLED EXTENSIONS WITH CORNICE RETURNS ON FOUR SIDES THAT HAS A WALK-OUT STONE BASEMENT AT THE REAR. A THREE-SIDED BAY WINDOW TO THE WEST, CORNICE OVER THE WINDOWS, CENTRAL CHIMNEY, A DENTIL TRIMMED TWO-SIDED FRONT PORCH AND SMALLER SIDE PORCH SUPPORTED BY TURNED POSTS WITH BRACKETED CAPITALS CHARACTERIZE THIS LARGE HOUSE.
2020 WisDOT survey information:
Rising two-and-one-half stories, this Queen Anne-style house is sheathed with asbestos siding and topped with a seamed metal roof. A one-story, hipped-roof porch with turned posts and decorative carved wooden brackets is located within the ell, while an additional single-story porch with matching porchwork is located to the east. Windows throughout the house are largely one-over-one-light, double-hung sash arranged singly and in pairs.
A house (albeit of a different form) is depicted at this location by no later than 1874; however, based on the home’s current appearance it was more likely constructed in the 1890s. Per the 1895 plat map of Darlington, this parcel (and home) was owned by George F. West. West was born in 1847 in the Town of Gratiot, Lafayette County, where he grew up. He served in the Civil War, where he lost a leg. After running a general store in Gratiot, he ran another in Darlington and also served for ten years as the Clerk of Courts in Lafayette County. Thereafter, he joined the Citizens’ National Bank in Darlington, where he held the positions of bookkeeper and treasurer prior to attaining the position of president. He is also noted as having “owned and operated a farm near Darlington,” as well as served on the board (as treasurer and later president) of the Lafayette County Agricultural Society and, therefore, ran the County Fair for seven years. The Wests are believed to have resided here until at least 1914, when the parcel was sold to his son-in-law Herman Schreiter. George died on Christmas Day, 1922. His wife Samantha preceded him in death in February 1922. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Footnotes for 2020 WisDOT information below in the Additional Comments:
Assessor’s records for 505 E. Louisa Street cite an 1800 date of construction, which most likely was a typo and was meant to be 1900, which is the general date ascribed to a good number of properties in Darlington; U.S. Federal Census, Population, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920; History of Lafayette County (1881), 733 (biographical sketch); Foote and Henion, Plat Book of Lafayette County, Wisconsin (1895); Newsbrief (re: Agricultural Society), Mineral Point Weekly Tribune, 22 October 1896, 8; “George F. West Asks for Support,” Janesville Daily Gazette, 30 March 1904, 2 (includes photo); “Lafayette Co. Pair Married 50 Years,” Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI), 18 September 1921, 22. An article (likely an obituary) on George F. West was published on 4 January 1923 in the Darlington Journal; however, due to COVID-19, access to, or review of, that obituary was not possible. Although the parcel transferred in 1914 from George and Samantha West to their sone-in-law, it’s possible they remained in the house until their respective deaths, Mattie E (Samantha) West and G.F. West to Herman Schreiter, Warranty Deed (2 March 1914), 66/533, #108057. Mrs. West’s obituary cites that she lived on Louisa Street at the time of her death. |
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