| Additional Information: | 1979: WOOD SHINGLES IN GABLES AND TOP OF TOWERPOLYGONAL TOWER W/ BELL CAST ROOF
Recommendation write-up from the 2019 New Berlin survey:
Rising two-and-one-half stories, the primary (west) elevation of this brick Queen Anne-style house is dominated by a three-story corner tower with a bell-shaped roof. Regarding the tower, tall and narrow windows are found along both the first and second floors, while smaller sash examples occupy the third level, above a shinglework pent. Small decorative brackets run immediately beneath the tower’s roof. An open, hipped-roof porch extends from the front of the house and features spindled porch posts and railing. Full-height gabled projections extend from three sides of the home’s central core, the gabled peaks are covered with wooden shingles and windows are set within a wooden surround. Each gable is outlined with a carved wooden bargeboard. Windows throughout the house are generally singly arranged and topped with a flush stone header and underscored by a slightly projecting stone sill. A historic (1914) photo of the house would seem to indicate that the porch posts and railing have been replaced.
This house is believed to have been built circa 1890 by Alvarus E. and Hannah Elizabeth (nee Hollister) Gilbert. A. E. Gilbert was born in New York in 1824, the son of Daniel and Catherine Gilbert who came to New Berlin in 1839. A.E. and Harriet married in October 1849 and they had six children. In the early 1850s, the Gilberts moved to Illinois, where they remained until 1861. They then returned to New Berlin, purchased land from Alvarus’s brother Myron in Section 27 where they settled. A.E. held a number of town offices, was a member of the county board, as well as served as district assemblyman. He was also involved in the town’s insurance society. As of the 1891 plat map, the property shows two houses, which would seem to suggest that this house was built by that time. In August 1891, A.E. died and the property was sold to Henry and Wilhelmina (aka Minnie) Schreiber in May 1892. Born in 1850, Henry resided previously in the Town of Granville; he wed Minnie in 1875 and together they had six children. It was in circa 1898 that Henry Schreiber built a round barn on the property (no longer extant). The Schreibers owned the property until at least 1914, by which time Henry had died. By no later than 1920, Minnie and her second-youngest daughter Elsa lived in Milwaukee. Minnie died on 6 August 1931. In 1932, and during Albert Schroeder’s ownership of the farm property, Allis-Chalmers utilized Schroeder’s tractor (and used on his property) for their first testing of Firestone rubber tires.
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| Bibliographic References: | Historical & Architectural Resources Survey, City of New Berlin, Waukesha County, Wisconsin prepared by tes | Historical Consulting, LLC, 2019.
Footnotes to 2019 survey information below:
Plat Book of Waukesha County, Wisconsin (Minneapolis: C.M. Foote & J.W. Henion, 1891); Standard Atlas of Waukesha County, Wisconsin (Chicago: Geo. A. Ogle & Co., 1914), illustration of house, page 123. The photo is small and it’s hard to discern if the porch posts are turned or if they are round.
“Gilbert/Schroeder/Hofmann Home,” Designated New Berlin Landmark (Site #20), 18 December 2014, the summary for this house indicates that the house was built in the late 1890s, but also that it was built by A.E. Gilbert, Available online at https://www.newberlin.org/732/GilbertSchroederHofmann-Home, Accessed June 2019. City assessment information does cite an 1897 date of construction; however, Gilbert died in August 1891 and, per deeds, his widow sold the property in 1892 to Henry & Wilhelmina Schreiber. In any case, it’s possible that the house was built by the Gilberts; however, it would then need to date to, or pre-date, 1891. Unfortunately there are no tax assessment rolls available for any years between 1890 and 1900 and those available for 1880, 1890 and 1900 are inconclusive (no significant or notable valuation change was identified; in fact, valuation went down between 1890 and 1900). Wisconsin, Homestead and Cash Entry Patents, Pre-1908, Available online at www.Ancestry.com, Accessed July 2019; History of Waukesha County, 913; “Sad and Mournful,” Waukesha Daily Freeman, 27 August 1891, 1/3; Mrs. A.E. Gilbert, et. al. to Henry & Wilhelmina Schreiber, Warranty Deed, 28 May 1892, 82/142, #21500; U.S. Federal Census, 1850-1920; Atlas of Waukesha County, Wisconsin (Madison, WI: Harrison & Warner, 1873); Plat Book of Waukesha County (1891); Standard Atlas of Waukesha County, Wisconsin (1914).
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