Your House & Architetural Styles
Be Your Own House Detective
Researching the history of your house can be an
interesting and satisfying activity.
When was it built? And by whom? What style is it?
How many families have owned it? Were they lawyer, carpenters,
store owners or what? A variety of resources are
available to people interested in the history of their house.
The ones listed below are usually available at local libraries,
local and state historical societies. Check the Historical
Resources page of this website for addresses and web site
information. Another good website for researching your own
house is
http://architecture.about.com/od/buildyourhouse/u/yourhouse.htm
Wisconsin's Architecture & History Inventory
If you live in a house located in a historic district or
one that was included in an architectural survey, information on
your house was recorded in Wisconsin's Architecture & History
Inventory which is searchable online at
www.wisconsinhistory.org/ahi
City Directories & Telephone Books
Check your library or city hall for old city directories
or telephone books. Using multiple
directories you may be able to build a list of former occupants of
your home. The Wisconsin Historical
Society has a large collection of these books.
Maps
Plat maps, birds-eye views and real estate
atlases can help you pin down the year of construction and track
changes to street names. Birds-eye maps were made by an
artist walking around town taking notes on building locations, sizes
and shapes. He then went home and drew the map. They are
fun to look and pretty reliable, but occasional mistakes were made.
Fire Insurance Maps
The Sanborn-Perris Company created maps of
American communities to assist fire insurance underwriters to
determine fire risk. S-P mapped over 300 Wisconsin communities
and updated their maps every five years. Coverage varies but
the earliest maps were made in 1883 and most continue through the
1930's. The Wisconsin Historical Society has an extensive
collection and microfilm copies may be available at a local library
or historical society.
Tax Records
Tax rolls and assessment lists document the acreage,
valuation and owner's name. These records can help determine
the age of a house by noting changes in the properties value.
A big jump usually means a house was built on the property.
Many of these records are held in Wisconsin State Historical Society
Area Research Centers statewide. For more information on the
research centers visit
www.wisconsinhistory.org/libraryarchives/arcnet/ or
call 608-264-6460.
Property Abstracts
A property abstract lists, in chronological fashion, all legal
documents pertaining to a parcel of land. Included are references to
deeds, mortgages, wills, probate records, court litigation, and tax
sales--the essential legal proceedings that affect property
ownership. The abstract reveals the names of all people who have
owned the property, how long each owner had it, and how much it sold
for when it changed hands. Only rarely, however, does it mention
buildings or capital improvements to the property.
Most properties in Wisconsin have had their chain of title
abstracted, although the practice has recently become less popular,
and owners have turned to a simple title guarantee. Usually, either
the property owner or a mortgage holder has custody of the abstract;
but a previous owner might hold an out-of-date version.
Newspapers
Newspapers provide a unique look into a communities past.
House researchers may find articles about house construction, land
transactions, social notes and obituaries of past owners.
Descriptions of the larger homes were sometimes given in great
detail. It
is very helpful to know the approximate year of construction.
It is a little like looking for a needle in a haystack, but if you
persist, you may find detailed information that exists nowhere else.
The Lake Geneva Library has, on microfilm, a fairly complete
collection of our old newspapers.
Architectural Styles
In the
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Wisconsin saw several
architectural styles come and go. Here you will find
descriptions and local examples of some of the types common to this
area. The range of years given for each style is when that
style was most popular. Many houses are not of one pure style;
blending styles was common. And some homes have no clear style and are sometimes referred to as
"vernacular." For much more
info on architectural styles check out this web site at Northern
Arizona University:
http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~twp/architecture
Greek Revival
(1800 - 1855)
IDENTIFYING
FEATURES:
Gable or hipped, low-pitch
roof; dentil cornice emphasized with wide band of trim --porches:
square or rounded columns, first style to use gable-front floor plan
(gable end facing the street, representing Greek temple),
temple-front entryway with entry door surrounded by rectangular
transom and sidelights
Italianate
(1850 - 1890)
IDENTIFYING FEATURES: 2
or 3 stories; low-pitched roof, widely overhanging
eaves; large, decorative brackets beneath eaves; tall, narrow
windows (most often on commercial buildings), commonly arched or
curved above; some with square cupola or tower (campanile),
elaborate wrap-around porch (or smaller entry porch) with decorative
Italianate double columns and other details.
This was the dominant style in the U. S. in
the mid and late nineteenth century.
Queen Ann (1880 - 1905)
IDENTIFYING FEATURES:
Steeply pitched, irregular roof shapes;
dominant, front-facing gable; patterned shingles, bay windows,
multi-color and
decorative ornamentation; partial or full-width porches of one
story; multiple gables and dormers; occasional towers and turrets,
rounded or square. Differing wall textures are their "hallmark".
This is the most eclectic style of the Victorian era.
Folk Victorian (1880 -
1910)
IDENTIFYING
FEATURES: Porches with spindlework detailing, L-shaped or
gable-front plan, cornice brackets, details often with Italianate
and/or Queen Anne inspiration. Basically,
working-class or middle-class versions of Queen Anne. Simpler
details and basic, asymmetrical floor plans.
Bungalow (1900 - 1930)
IDENTIFYING FEATURES:
Low-pitched, gabled roof, wide overhang of eaves, exposed rafters
(rafter tails) under eaves, decorative brackets (knee braces or
corbels); incised porch (beneath main roof); tapered or square
columns supporting roof or porch; 4-over-1 or 6-over-1 sash windows,
often with Frank Lloyd Wright design motifs; hand-crafted stone or
woodwork, often mixed materials throughout structure.
Prairie (1900 - 1920)
IDENTIFYING
FEATURES: This is one of the few indigenous American styles,
developed by a creative group of Chicago architects known
collectively as the Prairie School. Frank Lloyd Wright is
essentially the "father" of Prairie style. Wright's prairie
style focused specifically on horizontal, open floor plans
representing the expansive prairie region. The prairie style made
subtle use of Japanese architecture, specifically that culture's use
of horizontal space, flowing interior spaces, hipped roofs with
broad eaves, and long bands of windows that apparently invoke the
idea of Japanese screens (small, patterned pane glass). Though
short-lived in the U.S., this is the first American style to be
taken seriously in Europe.
