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South Main Street Historic District (Oregon, Wisconsin)

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South Main Street Historic District
A portion of the district.
LocationS. Main St., jct. with Jefferson and Janesville Sts., Oregon, Wisconsin
Area2 acres (0.81 ha)
NRHP reference No.00000699[1]
Added to NRHPJune 15, 2000

The South Main Street Historic District is a surviving collection of eleven commercial buildings built from 1877 to 1915 in the old downtown of Oregon, Wisconsin, plus the WWI memorial.[2] It was added to the State and the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.[3]

The first house in what would become Oregon was built in 1842, a log cabin built for C.P. Mosely just east of what is now the Main Street district. The house became a tavern and a general store under I.M. Bennett. James Coville built another log house in 1843, just north of the district, and operated a shoe shop in it. A community grew there, called "Rome Corners." A post office was added in 1848, and a frame hotel called the Oregon Exchange in 1849.[2]

In 1857 Charles Waterman had a village platted and called "Oregon." In 1864 the Beloit and Madison Railroad reached town, making Oregon a shipping point for the surrounding country. In 1883 the village incorporated, with over 500 inhabitants. The village continued to grow, adding a flour and grist mill in 1890, the first bank in 1892, a volunteer fire-fighting company in 1895, a water tower in 1898, a creamery in 1900, a telephone exchange in 1901, and paved streets in 1916.[2] Some of the commercial buildings from this period of expansion survive, including:

  • The C.E. Powers building at 115 S. Main Street was built in 1877 - a 2-story commercial vernacular brick building that still has its cast-iron columns in the street-level storefront. The top of the front wall is decorated with a brick cornice.[2][4]
  • The Cowdrey Tailor shop at 111 S. Main was built in 1878, trimmed with Italianate brickwork. In 1911 the facade was updated to a then-modern Broadfront style.[2][5]
  • The Howe Drug Store at 121 S. Main was built in 1880 with Italianate-styled cream brick, then updated to red and white brick in 1907, and then updated again in 1940 with an orange brick veneer.[2][6]
  • Howe Rental at 123 S. Main was also built in 1880, in a style that matched Howe's drug store next door. Its facade was updated in 1925.[2][7]
  • The Marvin Hardware store/Masonic Lodge at 117 South Main Street is a nicely decorated Romanesque Revival building erected in 1898,[2][8] described in more detail in its own article.
  • The Netherwood building at 104 Janesville Street (center left in the photo above) is another two-story, cream brick, Romanesque Revival building. Like the Masonic Lodge, red brick decorations contrast with the cream brick. Above the upper windows is a pressed metal cornice and a brick parapet.[2][9]
  • The McDermott building at 109 S. Main is a 2-story red-brick building with white stone trim above the windows and above that a corbelled parapet topped with light stone trim. It was built in 1899.[2][10]
  • The Montgomery & Martin/Observer building at 112 Janesville St. is a 2-story commercial vernacular office building with pressed metal window hoods and a pressed metal cornice. It was built in 1899.[2][11]
  • The Hausmann Brewing Company Saloon at 116 Janesville St. is a small commercial vernacular building erected in 1900 with the front wire-cut orange brick.[2][12]
  • The T.H. Grady Grocery at 134 S Main is a brick Modern Broadfront-style store built in 1915.[2][13]
  • The World War I Veterans Memorial at Janesville and Main is a nine-foot column of polished Hurricane Island granite, saved from Chicago's old city hall, and inscribed: "ERECTED IN HONOR OF THOSE WHO SERVED OUR COUNTRY IN THE WORLD WAR 1914-1918." It was dedicated June 10, 1920, and may be the first tribute to veterans erected after the war.[2][14]

References

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Elizabeth L. Miller (1998-11-15). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: South Main Street Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved 2019-04-21. with eight photos
  3. ^ "South Main Street, jct with Jefferson and Janesville Streets". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2018-07-15.
  4. ^ "C.E. Powers Building". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  5. ^ "T.B. Cowdrey Tailor Shop". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  6. ^ "Isaac Howe Drugstore". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  7. ^ "Isaac Howe Rental". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  8. ^ "Oregon Masonic Lodge". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  9. ^ "C.W. Netherwood Building". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  10. ^ "McDermott Block". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  11. ^ "Montgomery and Martin/Observer Building". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  12. ^ "Hausmann Brewing Co. Saloon". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  13. ^ "T.H. Grady Grocery". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  14. ^ "World War I Veterans Memorial". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-04-23.

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