Property Record
SE of Waterloo at Jct. of Bluse Point and Island Church Rds.
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | St. Wenceslaus Roman Catholic Church |
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| Other Name: | The Island Church |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 16210 |
| Location (Address): | SE of Waterloo at Jct. of Bluse Point and Island Church Rds. |
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| County: | Jefferson |
| City: | |
| Township/Village: | Waterloo |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | 8 |
| Range: | 13 |
| Direction: | E |
| Section: | 14 |
| Quarter Section: | SW |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: | NE |
| Year Built: | 1863 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1974 |
| Historic Use: | church |
| Architectural Style: | Early Gothic Revival |
| Structural System: | Log |
| Wall Material: | Board and Batten |
| Architect: | John Fiedler |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | St. Wenceslaus Roman Catholic Church |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date: | 5/12/1975 |
| 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. WISCONSIN REGISTERED LANDMARK, #80. TAMARACK LOG CONSTRUCTION, VERTICAL BOARD AND BATTEN SIDING. LIME PLASTER INTERIOR WALLS. ORIGINAL FURNISHINGS. PHOTO T24/31 IS TEXT OF LANDMARK PLAQUE. ADDITIONAL PHOTO CODE IS GREEN 5/17. St. Wenceslaus is a rare example of the log churches that immigrants built in the early years of Wisconsin’s settlement. Immigrants from Bohemia and present-day Germany who farmed the "islands" (high ground) of Blue Joint Marsh built this small gabled building of tamarack logs in 1863. Within a few years, they weatherproofed the exterior with vertical boards and battens, perhaps adding the square two-stage belfry at that time. The church is plain outside, and in. On the interior, the logs remain apparent through a half-inch coating of lime plaster. John Fiedler, a local craftsman, built the pine pews, cutting them with a foliated profile. The only embellishments that relieve the austerity of the interior space is the artwork over the simple altar, including the image of St. Wenceslaus, patron of Bohemia. Wrought-iron candleholders under each station of the cross remind us that candles and oil lamps once provided the only sources of illumination, and a small iron stove with its extended stovepipe, standing in the aisle, provided the only heat. Regular services ceased in 1891, when the parishioners joined St. Joseph's congregation in Waterloo. |
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| Bibliographic References: | PERRIN "ARCHITECTURE OF WISCONSIN" PAGE 124. WATERLOO COURIER 5/30/1996. 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 |