Property Record
170 S JACKSON ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | James Harris House |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 20108 |
| Location (Address): | 170 S JACKSON ST |
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| County: | Rock |
| City: | Janesville |
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| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1870 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1987 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Second Empire |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Cream Brick |
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| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Old Fourth Ward Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 5/30/1990 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 2/7/1990 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | This two story brick house retains features of the Second Empire style. The exterior has been extensively altered since construction. Built in about 1870 for James Harris, founder of the Harris Manufacturing Co. From his shop begun in 1859 for the manufacture of farm equipment and machinery, Harris developed a large business which employed 125 by 1869. In 1881 the firm was incorporated as the Janesville Machine Company with Harris and A. P. Lovejoy as owners. The company made agricultural implements and the facility eventually developed into and automobile assembly plant for General Motors. Harris left Janesville Machine in 1882 and established a barbed wire manufacturing company on the northeastern edge of the Old Fourth Ward. This firm was known later as the Janesville Fence and Post Company and eventually as Harris Ace Hardware. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) Assessment Rolls, 1860, 1870, 1880. (B) City Directories, 1866, 1870, 1876. (C) Wise (1888). The Old Fourth Ward Historic District: A Guide, Janesville Historic Commission, 1990. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |