N887-889 State Highway 67

Summary

Meissner Store
N887-889 State Highway 67, Ashippun, Dodge County
Date of Construction: 1873

Meissner Store, which is composed of an original general store building and four additions constructed between 1873 and the 1940s, was the first commercial enterprise in the community known today as Old Ashippun. The building is characterized by an original false-front store building with fine wood details and a gabled cream brick addition, both featuring original double-hung windows and interior woodwork. The brick and wood facades are linked by a covered porch running the entire length of the front of the building, giving it a sense of cohesion. Robert Wittig owned the store and served as postmaster for Ashippun. His son-in-law, Gustave Meissner, was the first proprietor of the store. They catered to a predominantly German agricultural community that had formed amid farmland and wilderness. Meissner went on to serve as the president of the Bank of Ashippun and was elected the State Assembly. Oconomowoc brewer Peter Binzel of Binzel Brewery was a longtime owner of the attached tavern. One of the longest-operating merchants in the building was Ernest Gauerke, who also lived in the building. The tavern and the original store which had been converted to a dance hall were renamed Maple Inn in the 1930s by then-owner Richard Griep. The name was carried on by longtime proprietor Ben Krueger through the 1960s and endures today.

The store served as one of the earliest surviving post offices in Ashippun township, which was critical to keeping the largely immigrant community connected to their families in the days before rural mail delivery. The tavern, housed in the brick addition, was an important recreational, business, and social outlet for the surrounding rural community. The second floor of the tavern served as one of the only hotels along State Highway 67 between Oconomowoc and Neosho, critical in the late nineteenth century when many rural travelers passed through on foot or by ox- and horse-drawn wagons. Eventually, the property was converted to a dance hall and supper club. For over one hundred and fifty years, it has served as a commercial and social center for the community.

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