Property Record
201 FREDERICK ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Watertown Cutlery; Village Blacksmith Volks |
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| Other Name: | Fisher Barton, Inc. |
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| Reference Number: | 75878 |
| Location (Address): | 201 FREDERICK ST |
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| County: | Jefferson |
| City: | Watertown |
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| Year Built: | 1910 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1986 |
| Historic Use: | industrial bldg/manufacturing facility |
| Architectural Style: | Astylistic Utilitarian Building |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
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| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | Straight flat stone lintels on facade; metal covered one story east side addition; segmental arched windows with brick voussoirs on side elevation; rectangular windows on facade have been replaced; rear brick addition. This factory building is the old Watertown Cutlery Company plant, later known as the Village Blacksmith Folks. In 1901, the Watertown Cutlery Company was founded in the city. The company had moved from Milwaukee and originally manufactured a line of consumer knives. They built a large frame factory at the end of S. Water Street (Frederick St.) and between 1910 and 1915, a brick office and warehouse was built. The company was moderately successful and by the 1930s they were making a full line of cutlery and garden tools. Much of the original plant probably exists underneath the metal siding of the facility and the brick office building is still evident in the complex. Today the factory is still in use as the Fisher-Barton Company. This plant has some historic interest as the old Watertown Cutlery factory, later known as the Village Blacksmith Folks. While the company was a moderately successful business, much of the old facility has been covered with inappropriate siding so that the original structure, if it is still there, is not readily evident. If the plant was returned to its original state, the factory may have significance as a small metal products industry that was among the many diverse industries of Watertown. One of the few extant historic industrial buildings in the city of Watertown, the Watertown Cutlery building has retained a fair degree of integrity and exhibits some architectural interest. However, as one of the group exhibiting moderate architectural character, this building is not an architecturally significant example of industrial architecture. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) "Village Blacksmith Folks Plant," Watertown Daily Times Centenial Issue, July 1, 1936, n.p. (B) Sanborn-Perris Fire Insurance Maps 1901-1902. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |