| 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.
BARGE BOARDS AND TRUSSES IN GABLES. SQUARE TOWER IN ELL W/MANSARD ROOF AND DORMERS. SCROLL CUT PORCH. PEAKED ARCH CARVED LINTELS.
2019 City of New Berlin survey recommendation write-up:
Rising from a coursed stone foundation, this largely gabled ell form is dominated by a three-story tower with a polygonal roof and gabled dormers rising from each side. An open porch extends from the front of the tower, sheltering the street-facing entrance, while an additional hipped-roof porch fronts the ell wing. Both porches are comprised of carved wooden supports and brackets, as well as a decorative frieze. Windows throughout the house are comprised of wooden surrounds, some topped with a pent overhang with wooden brackets, while others are finished with gabled, carved wooden hoods. The gabled peaks of both the front-facing block as well as the roof dormer of the ell wing are finished with carved wooden kingpost and bargeboard trim. A brick exterior chimney runs up the home’s east gabled end.
Previous research indicates that this house was built in 1884 by Albert C. Peck for himself and his family. A.C. Peck was born in 1851 in Wisconsin. The 1880 census finds him living in Muskego, along with his wife Mary (nee Blott, the daughter of John Blott, long-time resident of Prospect Hill) and their eleven-month-old daughter Luella (aka Lulu). At that time Peck was identified as a farmer. By the time the Pecks relocated to Prospect, A.C. appears to have turned his interests to carpentry, as he is noted as working on a number of homes, including the 1892 home of H.E. Hale. That same year, and no doubt hoping to play off of the popularity of the springs in nearby Waukesha, Peck and his brother-in-law, J.C. Blott built a summer resort (Vista Mere House) west of the Peck’s home. Thereafter, a string of unfortunate events happened to Peck, including Vista Mere burning to the ground (1893), as well as the death of both his wife (1895, age 35) and son Roy (1896, age 11). In 1897, Peck married Cora Levisse and by 1899 they moved to Fall River, Columbia County, along with Peck’s two daughters, Lulu and Mabel. Although retaining ownership for at least a time after moving, Peck rented out the Prospect home to Dr. Dowswell in October 1898. Peck died on 22 October 1934. In 1968, the Donald Hones family was acknowledged by the New Berlin Historical Society for the restoration work that they completed on the house. The home’s current owners, the Stieffs, have also done some considerable restoration work on the home.
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| Bibliographic References: | WAUKESHA FREEMAN 7/8/1996.
Historical & Architectural Resources Survey, City of New Berlin, Waukesha County, Wisconsin prepared by tes | Historical Consulting, LLC, 2019.
Footnotes for 2019 City of New Berlin survey information provided below:
Research done by the home’s current owner confirms a circa 1884 date of construction, Paul Stieff, Conversation with Traci E. Schnell, September 2019; H.A. and Lucy Youmans to A.C. Peck, Warranty Deed, 21 November 1883, 60/615, #1957; “Prospect,” newsbrief (re: Hale House), Waukesha Daily Freeman, 8 September 1892, 5; “Prospect” newsbrief, Waukesha Daily Freeman, 9 May 1895; U.S. Federal Census, Population, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920; Wisconsin State Census, 1885; “Area Clubs Review Year’s Events,” Waukesha Daily Freeman, 2 January 1969, 21. Vista Mere House, which has long been incorrectly referred to in secondary sources as Buena Vista, was built adjacent to (and to the west of) Peck’s home. Although originally planned to be called the Highland Park House and to consist of twenty-seven rooms, it was ultimately named Vista Mere House. Its actual room size, as built, remains unconfirmed. A grand opening was held in March 1892, and it opened for summer stays as of June 1892. The hotel’s tenure was significantly short, as it was destroyed by fire in March of the following year. As the insurance covered only two thirds of its worth, the hotel was not rebuilt, “Prospect A Summer Resort—Large Hotel Going Up,” Waukesha Daily Freeman, 1 October 1891, 5; “Duplainville,” Waukesha Daily Freeman, 24 March 1892, 5; “Vista Mere to Open,” Waukesha Daily Freeman, 16 June 1892, 9; “Prospect,” newsbrief (re: fire), Waukesha Daily Freeman, 16 March 1893, 5.
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