102 West Main - 106 East Main Street (north side)
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102 West Main Street
This brick commercial vernacular building was erected for Robert Beat, of the Mount Horeb Hardware Company, to house the company Ford automobile dealership. It was constructed in 1926 (Village of Mount Horeb Tax Rolls). It is a fine example of the early twentieth century commercial vernacular variant sometimes call Modern Broadfront, with its simple decorative brick work, plain belt course and water table, insert stone or concrete panels and implied capitals, and parapet with coping and semi-circular cap. The flat-roofed horizontal form, dominated by single-pane display windows and framed with simple decorative brick work, and often finished with a shaped parapet, were especially popular for automobile dealerships. The integrity has been compromised by the reduced window openings on the front facade. John and Roy Beat opened their Ford garage in this building on January 19, 1927 (The Mount Horeb Centennial Book, 1861-1961, p. 57). The Beats operated the dealership until 1954. Robert Stare operated it from 1954 until 1971. In 1971, the Beats' Plumbing business moved into the building. Larry O'Connell has operated Mount Horeb Plumbing in the building since 1986 (Mount Horeb Presettlement to 1986, p. 28). This property was owned by Robert Beat in 1925, and by Beat's business, the Mount Horeb Hardware Company, from 1926 until at least 1989. In 1996, it was owned by Larry O'Connell. The Beat Building is not individually eligible for historic designation, but is a contributing element in the potential locally-designated Main Street Historic District. |
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100 East Main Street
This astylistic utilitarian frame building was erected to house the Allan Ruste and Company hardware store in 1882. P.G. Krogh's hardware store was located in the building from 1883 until 1893. The building also served as the post office from 1883 to 1885, when Krogh was postmaster. The (John) Heisig, (Andrew) Grinde and (Niels) Evans hardware store was in the building from 1893 until 1909 (Village of Mount Horeb Tax Rolls, Wisconsin State Gazetteer and Business Directory). In 1909, Robert Beat bought out Andrew Grinde, and the name of the business was changed to the Mount Horeb Hardware Store Company. The building has housed the Mount Horeb Hardware Company (now an Ace Hardware) since that time. Robert Beat's sons, Roy and John, joined the firm in 1911. John's son, Lowell, joined the business in 1953 (Mount Horeb Presettlement to 1886, p. 16). The building originally had a two-story section (east) and a one-story section (west). An early twentieth century photo of the building on file in the Mount Horeb Historical Society shows the storefront in the two-story section with a central entrance, a display window with a paneled wood kick plate on either side, second-story windows with Italianate surrounds like those on the building at 114-116 East Main Street, and a stepped parapet with a plain cornice. A second story was added to the west section in 1914 (Village of Mount Horeb Tax Rolls), and the entire front was covered circa 1980. This property was bought by Ruste and Company in 1882, and sold to P.G. Krogh in 1883. Krogh owned it until 1893, when Heisig, Grinde and Company bought it. In 1896, the owner of record was Grinde and Heisig Brothers. From 1897 until 1909, it was Heisig, Grinde and Evans. The Mount Horeb Hardware Company owned the property from 1909 until at least 1980, and it has been owned by Lowell Beat since at least 1985 (Village of Mount Horeb Tax Rolls). The Ruste and Company Hardware Store is not individually eligible for historic designation, and is a noncontributing element in the potential National Register Main Street Historic District, and the potential locally-designated Main Street Historic District. |
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106 East Main Street
This Boomtown Front commercial vernacular frame building was erected for Dr. Niels C. Evans in 1894. It has a pediment false front. The building has been aluminum-sided, and has an altered storefront. An early twentieth century photo on file in the Mount Horeb Historical Society shows this building with a central double-door entrance, on single 1/1 double-hung sash window on either side of the entrance, and simple Italianate window surrounds on both floors. A circa 1940 photograph shows the second-story windows had been replaced with 4/1 double-hung sash. The post office was located in a stationery store here from at least 1894 until 1899; during that time, John Johnson, and later John Vilberg, was postmaster (Wisconsin State Gazetteer and Business Directory; Sanborn-Perris Map of Mount Horeb). In 1905, furniture was stored in the building. In 1915, it housed a barbershop. Gilbert Mickelson bought the building in 1915 and opened a jewelry shop. He also sold sewing machines, was a cabinetmaker and produced the mickelphone, a victrola. The Mickelsons managed a Kroger store in the building during the 1930s. Succeeding grocers were Otto Kahl (1939-41), Dorothy Williams, and Clarence Labansky. Nortie Espeseth, and then Lowell Russell, had shoe repair shops in the basement. Pfister Realty was located in the building from 1965 until at least 1985 (Mount Horeb Presettlement to 1986, p. 20). This property was owned by Dr. Niels Evans from 1893 until 1915. Gilbert Mickelson bought it in 1915, and it remained part of his estate until 1965. Bert Pfister and William Wittwer owned it from 1965 until at least 1975. Hermena Pfister, William and Mary Jean Wittwer owned it from at least 1980 until at least 1985. In 1996, the owner was Meylor. The second Dr. Evans Building is not individually eligible for historic designation, but it is a contributing element in the potential National Register Main Street Historic District, and the potential locally-designated Main Street Historic District. |