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100 - 106 South Second (west side)
Picture
2007
Picture
2018

100 South Second Street (Kittleson & Co. Hardware Store)
Picture
Picture
100 South Second Street
This frame commercial vernacular building was erected in 1889 to house the Kittleson and Company hardware store (Village of Mount Horeb Tax Rolls, Wisconsin State Gazetteer and Business Directory). It is a Boomtown Front. It has asbestos siding and has a one-story front addition, but retains its false front with bracketed cornice. An early photo of this building on file in the Mount Horeb Historical Society shows that the original storefront had a central double-door entrance with a 2-pane-over-3-pane display window on either side, and paneled wood kick plates. At the second-story, there was Queen Anne-influenced decorative shingling, and the windows had corner blocks. Part of the front addition dates from circa 1949 (Hardware Age, March 23, 1950). From 1891 until 1893, the proprietors of the hardware store were listed as Isaac Kittleson, John Vilberg and (?) [Tom Syverud, p. 26 in Cent. book] Schneider [under picture on p. 33 in Cent. book, error?]. In 1895, the proprietors were Vilberg, Kittleson and Tome Syverud [crossed out]. This property was owned by Kittleson and Company from 1889 until 1893, by Kittleson and Vilberg from 1893 until 1896, by Thompson and Ward from 1896 until 1900, and Thompson and (Olaf) Hanson in 1900. The owner and hardware store operator was Olaf Hanson from 1901 until 1903. Hanson took Ludwig England as his partner from 1903 until 1906. Ludwig England bought out Hanson in 1906 and owned and operated the hardware store and the property from 1906 until 1916. He was succeeded by Henry Gier from 1916 until 1936, and by the Gilbertson Hardware Company from 1936 until closing in 1979. The Gilbertsons continued to own the building until at least 1985. The property was owned by Folklore Village in 1989, and by the Wisconsin Folk Museum in 1996. The Mount Horeb Area Historical Society acquired the property in 1996 (Village of Mount Horeb Tax Rolls). The Kittleson and Company Hardware Store is not individually eligible for historic designation, but is a contributing element in the potential National Register main Street Historic District and in the potential locally-designated Main Street Historic District.


102 South Second Street (Vernon Herman Bowling Alley) - demolished

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demolished
102 South Second Street
This astylistic utilitarian brick building was erected for Vernon Herman in 1930 (Village of Mount Horeb Tax Rolls, Mount Horeb Presettlement to 1986, p. 25). It was built to house a bowling alley, a use that it still serves. The front of the building has been veneered with random coursed stone, which may or may not be original. This property was owned by Vernon Herman in 1930 and 1931, by Corella Herman (later Corella Cominsky) from at least 1935 until at least 1970, by Joseph Piquette in 1975, and by Curtis Chilson since at least 1980 (Village of Mount Horeb Tax Rolls). The Herman Building is not individually eligible for historic designation, but it is a contributing element in the potential National Register Main Street Historic District and in the potential National Register Main Street Historic District and in the potential locally-designated Main Street Historic District.


104 - 106 South Second Street (Mt. Horeb House Hotel)
Picture
Picture
Demolished
104-106 South Second Street
This frame gabled-ell building was erected for L.E. Larson in 1882 (Village of Mount Horeb Tax Rolls); a large livery, which stood behind (west of) the hotel was probably built at the same time. The hotel retains good integrity, although the south end of the first story has been re-sided, and fitted with smaller windows. The hotel also had Doric columns on its full-facade front porch (circa 1905 photo, Mount Horeb Presettlement to 1986, p. 24), and two-over-two double-hung sash windows. As early as 1883, the hotel was called the Mount Horeb House (Blue Mounds Weekly News, July 24, 1883). L.E. Larson owned the property until August 1884; Frank Larson ran the hotel during that time. A.A. Strommen bought the property in 1884. Lewis J. Berg operated the hotel 1884 until 1886. Thomas Ayen leased the property from Strommen in 1886 and built an addition on it (Blue Mounds Weekly News, September 22, 1886, Village of Mount Horeb Tax Rolls). Ayen then bought the property in 1887, and owned and operated the hotel until selling to Thomas Locke in 1891. Thomas Locke owned and operated the hotel and livery from 1891 until 1902 (Village of Mount Horeb Tax Rolls, Wisconsin State Gazetteer and Business Directory). Tolef A. Brattlie bought the property in 1902, and was owner and operator of the hotel from 1902 until 1908. William Quinn owned the property from 1908 until his death in 1916 (Village of Mount Horeb Tax Rolls). Quinn operated the hotel and the livery from 1908 until at least 1913 (Wisconsin State Gazetteer and Business Directory) and probably leased it thereafter, perhaps to B.E. Kelliher (The Mount Horeb Centennial Book, 1861-1961, p. 49). Margaret Brannan bought the property in 1917 and owned it until her death circa 1935. The property remained a part of her estate until 1945 (Village of Mount Horeb Tax Rolls). Brannan leased the hotel. In 1928, for example, Mrs. Regina Statz was the proprietor of the hotel (Wisconsin State Gazetteer and Business Directory). William Thousand owned the property from 1945 until at least 1950, and Sever Martinson owned it from at least 1955 until at least 1970. By 1961, the hotel had been converted into apartments (The Mount Horeb Centennial Book, 1861-1961, p. 26). B-K Construction owned it from at least 1975 until at least 1985, and R & R Construction owned it in 1996 (Village of Mount Horeb Tax Rolls). The Mount Horeb House Hotel is probably individually eligible for designation as a Mount Horeb Historic Site as the oldest remaining commercial block whose construction was the result of the arrival of the railroad. It is also a contributing element in the potential National Register Main Street Historic District and in the potential locally-designated Main Street Historic District.
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For permission to use these images please call 608.437.6486 or email mthorebmuseum@mhtc.net