| Additional Information: | ELISHA EDGERTON "WISCONSIN PREMIUM FARM" BEGUN IN 1836. GEORGE VAN BRUNT BOUGHT FARM IN 1865, BUILT SEVERAL BLDGS. FARM WAS WAUKESHA SPRINGS RESORT CALLED SPRINGDALE. GIVEN TO THE MASONS IN CA 1905. SHED ROOF ARCADE CONNECTING BLDGS TORN DOWN BETWEEN 1976-1980. J photo roll refers to J.A. Sewell negatives.
2024: The former Elisha Edgerton Farm is on the north side of USH 18 (Sunset Drive), directly west of the Bark River. In May 1837, Elisha and his wife Belinda (nee Taft) moved to the town of Summit and began farming on the land in and around Section 34, encompassing over 800 acres. Edgerton likely constructed outbuildings on the property during the 1840s. Most notably, this included a row of four, Gothic Revival-style buildings located directly behind the Edgerton house, three of which are still extant. These simple, front-gabled buildings were constructed of limestone and were decorated with pierced wood bargeboards and exposed rafter ends. The easternmost building, a carriage house, is a two-story building. The first story features a central carriage entrance, topped by a Tudor arch with a keystone. Above the arch on the second story are a group of three, eight-pane, wood windows with decorative arches. A finial pierces the gable peak. West of the carriage house were a dairy, smoke house, and granary (nonextant, demolished c.1874). The two extant one-story buildings feature central entrance doors on the façade (south elevation) with Gothic arches. The carriage house and dairy also have brick chimneys that pierce the rear gable peak. At the request of Belinda, the second floor of the carriage house was used by the local Episcopalian congregation. The buildings were connected by a wooden, shed arcade featuring Tudor arches and square posts. The arcade faced south and sloped along the north side. Above the arches was board and batten siding and below was horizontal wood siding. Various bays featured multi-pane wood windows and wood doors. The arcade is no longer extant.
In 1855, Edgerton purchased 830 acres in Sections 34 and 35 from his partner, Robert McCarter. He subsequently sold the west half of Section 35 to Charles Whitaker. Five years later, Edgerton was awarded the first Premium Farm designation by the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society, for which he served as president. In February 1865, Elisha sold the farm to Rial Rolfe, and moved to Milwaukee. Episcopal services were held in the Carriage House until the construction of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church (AHI #7482), at 36014 Sunset Drive, in 1871. The property was also briefly owned by H.C. Williams during the early 1870s. George Washington Van Brunt, co-owner of the Van Brunt Manufacturing Company, purchased the farm in 1873.
After purchasing the farmstead, George erected an ornate, cream city brick, Italianate-style house (nonextant, demolished 1964), which was designed by Milwaukee architect James Douglas. He converted the farmstead for the breeding and raising of trotting horses. This involved the construction of several outbuildings, including silos and a barn. The barn was constructed in 1874 (nonextant, demolished c.1995) at the site of Edgerton’s granary. The two-story barn was constructed of limestone and featured limestone plaques reading, “GWVB,” “1874,” and “188E.” Below the plaques, was a central entrance door with a Tudor arch, matching the one on the carriage house. The barn also had Tudor-arched windows with keystones. A long, one-story wing extended from the rear elevation. Between the smoke house and the new barn, a second-story addition was added to the east half of the arcade. George lived on the property until his death in 1883.
The property was willed to George’s nephew, Willard A. Van Brunt. Willard ran the family manufacturing plant until 1911, when the holdings were purchased by the John Deere Company. Willard turned the farm into a resort called Springdale. The basis of the resort’s establishment was the property’s natural springs, stemming from the Bark River. The resort’s primary spring, Ajalon, was located about 50 yards southeast of the house.
In 1905, Willard gifted the farm property to the Wisconsin Consistory. Willard, a mason himself, hoped the property would become the foundation for a Masonic home that would be a “…refuge to all members of the fraternity, without regard to their financial circumstances.” The Wisconsin Consistory spent $30,000 making improvements to the property over the next year, including remodeling the mansion into a 22-room guest house with gas and running water. The Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Wisconsin became the property’s owner in 1916.
In 1922, construction began across the street from the farm on the Wisconsin Consistory Home (Van Brunt Hall, AHI #15202). In addition to the hall, a Spring House (AHI #12504), hospital (AHI #12503), and garage were constructed (AHI #242164). After construction of a new staff dormitory at the Grand Lodge, the George Van Brunt House was demolished. It had served as staff housing from 1923 to 1963. |
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| Bibliographic References: | ZIMMERMANN, RUSSELL "THE HERITAGE GUIDEBOOK" (HERITAGE BANKS 1976).
Elisha Edgerton, “Comparative Profits of Wheat Growing and Sheep Raising,” Waukesha Plaindealer, November 22, 1854.
Philip H. Salkin, “St. Mary’s Episcopal Church,” National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1994).
“Sales of Real Estate,” Waukesha Plaindealer, October 2, 1855.
“Mr. Edgerton’s Farm,” in Transactions of the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society, ed. J.W. Hoyt (Madison, WI: Smith & Cullaton, 1861), vol. VI, Report of Committee on Farms, 140-141.
“The Edgerton Farm Sold,” The Daily Milwaukee News, February 9, 1865.
“Summit,” in Atlas of Waukesha County, Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.: Harrison & Warner, 1873), 27.
“Death of Geo. W. Van Brunt,” Waukesha Daily Freeman, May 3, 1883.
“Springdale,” Waukesha Journal, July 25, 1891.
“Gift For The Masons,” Watertown News, November 29, 1905.
“Masons Owned Mansion,” Waukesha Daily Freeman, June 14, 1973. |
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