Property Record
4828 MAIN ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Ritger Wagonmaking and Blacksmith Shop (Jacob Ritger) |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 14174 |
| Location (Address): | 4828 MAIN ST |
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| County: | Washington |
| City: | |
| Township/Village: | Addison |
| Unincorporated Community: | ST. LAWRENCE |
| Town: | 11 |
| Range: | 18 |
| Direction: | E |
| Section: | 34 |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1867 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1982 |
| Historic Use: | blacksmith shop |
| Architectural Style: | Side Gabled |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Fieldstone |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Ritger Wagonmaking and Blacksmith Shop, |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 6/1/1982 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. SEGMENTAL ARCH BRICK LINTELS. FRIEZE WINDOWS. 2 STORY WAGON SHOP ATTACHED TO 1 STORY BLACKSMITH SHOP. 35 INCH SPLIT FIELDSTONE WALLS W/HEAVY MORTAR JOINTS. HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT IN DEVELOPMENT OF ST. LAWRENCE. In 1867, Jacob Ritger opened his wagonmaking shop in the crossroads village of St. Lawrence to serve the surrounding agricultural region. His commodious one-and-one-half-story shop is a vernacular industrial building constructed of split fieldstone, laid with ample mortar. Boulders tie the thick walls together at the corners, and segmentally arched lintels of yellow brick support most of the window and door openings. The fieldstone and yellow brick create a colorful appearance. Attic windows light the upper level. Ritger used the double-door opening on the south side to get materials into the shop and finished wagons out. The opening has been filled, but the heavy wooden lintel remains visible. Later, Ritger formed a partnership with Louis Hermann, a blacksmith whose attached one-story shop is also built of fieldstone. Iron hitching rings on the exterior and interior walls attest to the many horses that this village smithy once shod. In 1915, cabinetmaker Herman Ziegelbauer converted the wagon shop into a residence. |
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| Bibliographic References: | ZIMMERMANN, RUSSELL, "THE HERITAGE GUIDEBOOK" (HERITAGE BANKS 1976). SEE PERRIN 1960 pg. 17. West Bend Daily News 6/14/1999. Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. Perrin, Richard W. E., Historic Wisconsin Architecture, First Revised Edition (Milwaukee, 1976). |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |