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Property Location
| Location (Address) | 61-65 E WALWORTH AVE |
|---|---|
| County | Walworth |
| City/Village | Delavan |
| Township | |
| Unincorporated community | |
| Town | |
| Range | |
| Direction | |
| Section | |
| Quarter Section | |
| Quarter Quarter Section |
Property Features
| Year Built | 1840 |
|---|---|
| Additions | C. 1900 |
| Survey Date | 1994 |
| Historic Use | lodging-hotel |
| Architectural Style | Greek Revival |
| Structural System | |
| Wall Material | Clapboard |
| Architect | Israel Stowell |
| Other Buildings On Site | |
| Demolished | Yes |
| Demolished Date | 2021 |
| Additional Comments | 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. Built by Samuel and Henry Phoenix. Simple, almost severe, this clapboard building seems to bespeak moral resolve. And rightly so: the people who built the Stowell House were evangelical Baptist reformers, members of the Delavan Temperance Colony, precursor to the town of Delavan. Colony founders Henry and Samuel Phoenix came from upstate New York, a region swept by enthusiastic religious revivals in the early 1830s, as migration from New York to Wisconsin began. The Phoenix brothers, bringing their religious fervor with them in 1836, saw Wisconsin as a place to build a new society free from the evils of alcohol and slavery. They selected a 4,000-acre tract where a road from Racine crossed Turtle Creek, marked its boundaries by painting “Temperance Colony” on the trees, and christened it “Delavan” after a fellow temperance activist. In 1840, the brothers helped one of their colonists, Israel Stowell, capitalize and build a temperance house, or alcohol-free tavern. Side-gabled and five bays long, the original building is made of oak and walnut timbers, joined by mortises and tenons. Built in the classic saltbox form, the rear eaves slope down, making the inn two stories tall in front and only one in back. Two of the original twelve-over-eight windows survive upstairs. Soon after finishing the inn, Stowell added a three-bay wing to the east, identical to the original in profile and design. Later additions included a front-gable section on the inn’s far west end, a section with a doorway on the east end, and a bay window in front, attached about 1900. The temperance house operated for less than a decade. By the late 1840s, the Phoenix brothers had died, reform fervor cooled, and non-colonists began settling in Delavan. The secularization of the community was certain when the Stowell House’s new owner began serving alcohol. |
| Bibliographic References | Delavan Enterprise 5/27/1998. Sanborn Perris maps. Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. |
National And State Register Of Historic Places Listings
| National/State Register Listing Name | Stowell, Israel, Temperance House |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date | Aug 11, 1978 |
| State Register Listing Date | Jan 01, 1989 |
| Contributing |
Architecture & History Inventory
The Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory (AHI) is a digital source of information on historic buildings, structures, and objects that have been surveyed by the State Historic Preservation Office in Wisconsin. Each property has a digital record providing basic information about the property and images.
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Access Property Records
Some properties have more materials (correspondence, clippings, historical information, etc.) not in the digital record. If a 'Site File' exists, it's noted in the 'Additional Comments' field. Contact us for an appointment to view these materials.
61-65 E. Walworth Ave.
78000145
Located in Delavan, Walworth County
J.S. Williams (1868)
Green Bay
In May of 1902 the remains of J.S. Williams were raised and towed to the Graef and Nebel stone company's dock and sunk to become part of the dock at McCracken's Cove, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.
Joe Puhl and his Cottage
August 2, 1935
Original caption reads: "Joe Puhl of Rice Lake, Wis., and several colonist neighbors banded together to build their own cottages. They finished Puhl's first, the first in the first in the project e...
Petition for requesting a special act to allow school district no. 1 in Delavan to build a schoolhouse
1849
Petitioners from school district no. 1 in Delavan request a special act to allow them to purchase a site and build a schoolhouse to accommodate 250 students.
