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Property Record

615 BROADWAY

Historic Name:
First Methodist Episcopal Church
Other Name:
First United Methodist Church
Reference Number:
94714

Property Location

Location (Address)
615 BROADWAY
County
Sauk
City/Village
Baraboo
Township
Unincorporated community
Town
Range
Direction
Section
Quarter Section
Quarter Quarter Section

Property Features

Year Built
1898
Additions
1991
Survey Date
1989,2014
Historic Use
Architectural Style
Structural System
Wall Material
Brick
Architect
Palmer,Bowen and Lake
Other Buildings On Site
Demolished
No
Demolished Date
Additional Comments
The Baraboo Methodist congregation was established in 1842 and constructed the first non-extant Methodist wood frame church in 1853 at the southeast corner of Broadway Street and 5th Avenue. In 1866 this church building was expanded and a bell tower added and a non-extant parsonage was constructed. In 1898, a new church building was constructed at the corner of Broadway Street and 4th Avenue for the First Methodist Episcopal Church congregation. Constructed by Bowen & Lake for $17,000, the red brick Romanesque church has a stone foundation, arched fenestration, stained glass windows including a large oculus facing Broadway Street, a bell tower at the corner entry, and steeply pitched roofs. A non-extant parsonage was constructed the following year in an adjacent lot along 4th Avenue. A new bell, weighing over 800 pounds and over 40 inches in diameter, was presented to the church by a member of the congregation in 1908.

In 1912, the South Side Methodist Church, established in 1885, merged with the north side congregation and formed the First Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1933, the German Methodist Episcopalian Church also merged, joining the church at 615 Broadway Street. The congregation is now called the First United Methodist Church and still occupies the building. In 1972, the non-extant parsonage was demolished and a new parsonage, located at 405 14th Avenue, was constructed.
Bibliographic References
Baraboo Weekly News, November 11, 1908. City of Baraboo Directory records on file with the Sauk County Historical Society. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, 1885, 1892, 1898, 1904, 1913, and 1927. On file at the Wisconsin Historical Society. Ward, Joseph Wayne. Baraboo, 1850-2010, Vols. III-IV: Chronology of the Growth of the Commercial & Retail Districts. Self-published, 2013. Wolter, Paul. Notes collected for tours of Downtown Baraboo. Multiple dates.

National And State Register Of Historic Places Listings

National/State Register Listing Name
Downtown Baraboo Historic District
National Register Listing Date
Jun 08, 2015
State Register Listing Date
Aug 15, 2014
Contributing
Yes
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Attribution

For a credit line: Wisconsin Historical Society, Creator, Title, Unique Identifier. 

The Unique Identifier can be found at the top or bottom of the page for each item. The name of a downloaded file is NOT the unique identifier.

For bibliographic citations please consult the UW-Madison Libraries Citation Research Guide to ensure compliance with appropriate style guidelines.

 

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