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Property Location
| Location (Address) | 121 W COOK ST |
|---|---|
| County | Columbia |
| City/Village | Portage |
| Township | |
| Unincorporated community | |
| Town | |
| Range | |
| Direction | |
| Section | |
| Quarter Section | |
| Quarter Quarter Section |
Property Features
| Year Built | 1884 |
|---|---|
| Additions | |
| Survey Date | 1992 |
| Historic Use | small retail building |
| Architectural Style | Italianate |
| Structural System | Brick |
| Wall Material | Brick |
| Architect | |
| Other Buildings On Site | |
| Demolished | No |
| Demolished Date | |
| Additional Comments |
Parapet with corbeling; round arch window lintels; string course; recessed entrance; first floor sotre modified; windows rediol in size; cornice removed. C.H. Pettibone arrived with his clerk Edward L. Jaeger in 1850 and established a mercantile store first at the corner of Edwater and Main in a building associated with the Veeder House. E.L.Jaeger who had worked with him several years before in Ohio. Pettibone erected a Greek Revival, general mercantile store in 1852 which may have been the Pettibone Block at the southwest corner of DeWitt and Cook. Pettibone located his mercantile store at this corner. The building burned in 1880 and was replaced by the Phoenix Block at 102 W. Cook (25/21). When Pettibone established a branch at Oxford, he formed a partnership with Jaeger and sent the later to the Oxford store. In 1862, the two stores were consolidated at Portage. In 1868 and 1869, Pettibone and Jaeger advertised as dry goods merchants, "Wholesale and Retail Dealers in Dry Goods, Notions, Groceries, Ready Made Clothing, Boots and Shoes, Hats and Caps, Carpets, Oil Cloths and c. Dewitt Street" (Farnham and Vivian 1868-69). The partnership dissolved in 1969 when Pettibone left Portage, and Jaeger maintained his own mercantile business which he called The Fair between 1870 and 1892. He reputedly operated at 121 W. Cook, but there is no clear evidence to support this attribution. Jagger retired in 1892 and William Roehm appears to have purchased the stock (Portage Daily Register 8/19/72; Wisconsin Visual and Sound Archives n.d.; Butterfield 1880: 590, 593; River Times 1852: 6/22: 3/3-5; Wisconsin Register 6/13/1974; Turner, A.J. 1903: 29; Merrill, Woodward & Co. 1877; Butterfield 1880: 663; City Bank of Portage 1914: 10; Register-Democrat 2/2/1924; Democrat 7/30/1897; Jones 1914 [2]: 560-61, 615). Otto Meyer operated a business called the Fair at 121 W. Cook. Edward L. Jaeger sold his mercantile business called the Fair to William Roehm when he retired from the general store business about 1892. William Roehm then appears to have sold the business to Otto Meyer or Meyer simply adopted the name about 1905. By 1905, Otto Meyer operated a grocery which he called the Fair. He occupied 121 W. Cook by 1908. Meyer expanded this business to a general merchandise store by 1909. He continued to operate the Fair in the building through 1930. By 1937, the Badger Paint Company occupied the building. This business remained through 1955 (City Bank of Portage 1914: 10; Register-Democrat 2/2/1924; Democrat 7/30/1897; Jones 1914 [2]: 560-61, 615). |
| Bibliographic References | Sanborn-Perris Map Co. 1929: store 1918: grocery 1910: The Fair 1901m 1894: grocery 1889: dry goods, clothing, boots and shoes 1775: dry goods Columbia Co. Treasurer 1863- 1915-1930: C.H. Meyer 1895-1910: Paul Schuman Est. 1885-1890: Paul Schuman 1870-1880: W.P. St. John The change in assessed value and the Stoner map (1882) indicate a building date of 1882-85. Directories: 1955: (121) Badger Paint and Hardware Store (Johnson Printing Co.) 1948: (121) Badger Paint Store (Commonwealth Telephone Co. 1937: (121) Badger Paint Store (Commonwealth Telephone Co.) 1929: (121) The Fair (Smith-Baumann Directory Co.) 1927-28, 1924-25: Otto H. Meyer, grocer (R.L. Polk & Co.) 1917-18: (121) Otto Meyer, grocer (Farrell) 1915-16, 1913-14, 1911-12: Otto Meyer, general store (R.L. Polk & Co.) 1910: (121) The Fair, O.H. Meyer (Voshardt) 1909-10: Otto Meyer, general store (R.L. Polk & Co.) 1908-09: (121) The Fair, a grocery (S.H. Moore) 1905-06: Meyer, Otto, grocery (R.L. Polk & Co.) not listed in 1903-04 |
National And State Register Of Historic Places Listings
| National/State Register Listing Name | Portage Retail Historic District |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date | Apr 27, 1995 |
| State Register Listing Date | Oct 24, 1994 |
| Contributing | Yes |
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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