Neillsville Downtown Historic District
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Neillsville Downtown Historic District | |
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| Location | 500 Block Hewett St. and 118 W. Sixth St., Neillsville, Wisconsin |
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| Coordinates | 44°33′38″N 90°35′46″W / 44.56056°N 90.59611°WCoordinates: 44°33′38″N 90°35′46″W / 44.56056°N 90.59611°W |
| Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian, Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, et al. |
| NRHP Reference # | 00000701[1] |
| Added to NRHP | June 15, 2000 |
Neillsville Downtown Historic District is a section of the historic old downtown of Neillsville, Wisconsin, with buildings as old as 1872. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.[2]
History
The settlement of Neillsville began when James O'Neill and his companions cut a road up through the forest from Black River Falls in June of 1845. They built a sawmill on the bank of O'Neill Creek and began cutting pine up the creek and floating it down to their mill. The loggers prospered, more settlers came, and by 1860 the population approached 250. Businesses developed along a Main Street which is now called Hewett Street.[2]
The first brick structure in town (and in Clark County) was built in 1872, and is in the district - the Hewett and Woods General Store at 502 Hewett Street.[3] Its brick is probably the "soft brick" produced locally by King and Vine,[2] and its style shows some Italianate influence.[4]
The Lowe Brothers building at 508 Hewett is a graceful brick building with Romanesque arches and a cast iron cornice, built in 1896.[5] Starting in 1927 the building housed a Red Owl grocery store.[2]
The Bast Bakery at 510 Hewett is another brick Italianate building with cornice, built around 1890, which originally housed a meat and flour store.[6][2]
The August Snyder Clothing Store at 518 Hewett is another brick Italianate building with cornice, this one built in 1900. It has a second-story bay window which projects above the sidewalk.[7][2]
The Clark County Bank building at 522 Hewett was built in 1887, then expanded and elaborated to Queen Anne style with a clipped gable, iron cornice, and brick corbels.[8][2]
The Sniteman Drug store at 528 Hewett is a striking brick Italianate building with metal cornice - the tallest on the block. Charles C. Sniteman was a New Yorker who trained at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. He came to Neillsville in 1879 to manage the Henry Meyer Drug Store and bought it in 1891. In 1895 he added the second story to a previous building and redid the front, producing the building we see today. Sniteman invented a fly spray used by farmers and a "blue ointment used in lumber camps to repel lice."[9][2]
Other buildings in the district include an Independent Order of Odd Fellows building and a hotel.
References
- ↑ Staff (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hettinga, Mary Jane (1999-07-20). "Neillsville Downtown Historic District" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places - Registration Form. US Dept. of the Interior - National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
- ↑ "Historical & Architechural Tour of Neillsville". City of Neillsville. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
- ↑ "Hewett and Woods Building". National Register or State Register. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
- ↑ "Lowe Brothers". National Register or State Register. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
- ↑ "Bast Bakery". National Register or State Register. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
- ↑ "August Snyder Clothing Store". National Register or State Register. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
- ↑ "Clark County Bank". National Register or State Register. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
- ↑ "C.C. Sniteman Drug Store". National Register or State Register. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
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