| Additional Information: | A 'site file' 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, State Historic Preservation Office.
RETURNED EAVES. FRIEZE WINDOWS. STONE LINTELS AND SILLS.
John H. Gredler, an immigrant from Bremen, bought the property and existing fieldstone house from Benjamin Carpenter. About 1850, he added a two story brick house to the front of the fieldstone structure, incorporating it under a salt-box roof. The house remains essentially unchanged. The cost of the addition was estimated at between $800 and $1,000.
The Gramins owned the house between 1900 and 1955, when it was sold for subdividing. At this time, two large barns on the property were razed. The house and several outbuildings were saved.
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Eggebrecht, restored the house and added the west wing in 1956.
This one-and-a-half story brick residence exhibits the proportions and detailing of the Greek Revival style. The entrance is located in the center most bay of a five-bay facade. Tall double-hung 6-over-6 windows flank the doorway; all are topped by unadorned stone lintels. Stone sills and a stone water table over the low rubble foundation further accent the walls. The small second story eyebrow windows on the entrance facade are nestled under a wide entablature which traverses the facade and terminates in returns on the east and west elevations. A large brick chimney is centered on the east elevation which contains two windows on each floor. The west elevation is identical but without the chimney. The doorway, slightly recessed, is flanked by sidelights and topped by a rectangular overlight. The gable roof extends down in the rear to form a saltbox, covering the original dwelling and other later additions.
The Gredler House is an excellent example of Greek Revival architecture with a high level of integrity despite additions (1956). The classic five-unit facade with trabeated center entrance is retained almost unchanged from its day of construction. This textbook quality Greek Revival is one of only a few such residences extant and is one of the most significant in terms of design and integrity.
This was the home of German immigrant John Gredler, who purchased 80 acres from Benjamin Carpenter in 1844 (sale recorded in 1845). Carpenter had a one room fieldstone dwelling on the six cleared acres; in 1850 Gredler built the one-and-a-half story brick residence on the front of the stone dwelling and incorporated both under a salt-box roof. The cost of Gredler's addition was between $800 and $1,000. After 1900 the farm was sold to Gustav Gramins who owned it until 1955.
The property is significant for its association with the Territorial Period portrayed by Benjamin Carpenter's 1839 fieldstone house (preserved when John Gredler enlarged it). The long-term occupancy of the Gredler and Gramins families in the well-preserved Greek Revival house is well documented in letters and photographs and offer a portrait of farm life in Brookfield Township.
2024 - The Gredler-Gramins House was added to the NRHP in 1980. The roughly 0.84-acre lot includes the 1839 Greek Revival style house, a detached garage, and a small shed. This one-and-a-half story, side gabled house has a classic five-unit façade with trabeated center entrance which is nearly unchanged from its day of construction. The asphalt shingle roof meets an exterior brick chimney at the apex of the eastern gable. Wooden windows are present, with 6/6 types visible in the first story of the primary façade and horizontal three-pane types visible above those. The window openings have stone sills and operable, louvered, wooden shutters. The centered door has glass sidelights and a glass transom. The exterior brick is arranged in a running bond pattern, and the foundation is stone. A rear shed roof dormer is present, as is a one-story addition at the western side.
A detached, two-car, side gabled garage is present to the east of the house. This garage has an asphalt shingle roof and wooden clapboard siding. Immediately to the east of the garage is a front gabled shed clad in vertical board and batten siding.
As of 2024, the house retains its integrity in terms of its location, setting, materials, design, association, workmanship, and feeling. Rear dormer addition noted (added after 1980).
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 7/8/1996.
Questers, Historic Landmark Tour, 1991, p. 21.
Assessor.
2024 - Historic Architectural Survey, Granville CPCN; Cities of Milwaukee, Wauwatosa, Brookfield, Waukesha, and New Berlin; Villages of Butler, Lannon, Germantown, and Menomonee Falls; Milwaukee, Washington, and Waukesha Counties, Wisconsin - Stantec |
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