Property Record
124 N BALDWIN ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Lavinia and Abraham Morton House |
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| Reference Number: | 78077 |
| Location (Address): | 124 N BALDWIN ST |
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| County: | Dane |
| City: | Madison |
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| Year Built: | 1873 |
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| Additions: | 1885 |
| Survey Date: | 1984 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Second Empire |
| Structural System: | Brick |
| 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: | Map code is 0709-131-0624-5. 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, Division of Historic Preservation-Public History. Abraham Morton was born in Whately, Massachusetts on July 4, 1804. In 1819, he moved to Pittsfield, Massachusetts and married Lavinia Doolittle in 1829. She was a Pittsfield native and worked as a school teacher. They had a son and a daughter. The family moved to Medina, Ohio in 1833 and Abraham worked as a brick maker. He also served as the village sheriff, secretary of an agricultural society and was a colonel in a military regiment. He was admitted to the bar in 1844 and also served as the county treasurer at this time. They moved to Sheboygan in 1847 and then Milwaukee where he owned a grocery store. After selling it, they moved to Pardeeville where he worked as a clerk. He then resumed his law career and went into farming until 1852 when he moved to California. He returned to Madison in 1854 and worked in the brick making industry until he injured his right arm at work in 1875. During his life, he had many brushes with death: he was shot at twice with one bullet lodging in a book he was carrying and the other went through his right arm. He was in a train wreck. In 1836, he was on a Great Lakes steamer when its boiler burst. When he lived in Ohio he was thrown from a stage coach. The Tenney-Lapham Neighborhood: A Walking Tour: "The house is one of the smallest but also one of the finest examples of the Second Empire style in Madison. It features mansard roofs on both the main block and the rear wing, and a short tower centered on the Dayton Street side. Interior is especially notable for the beautiful oak floors in the downstairs rooms." |
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| Bibliographic References: | Assessor. Tax records. Wisconsin State Journal 12/31/1885. The Tenney-Lapham Neighborhood: A Walking Tour, 1997, Madison Landmarks Commission. History of Dane Co., 1880, p. 1078. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |