Property Record
103 N COTTAGE ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Anson, Leonard Niles House |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 21799 |
| Location (Address): | 103 N COTTAGE ST |
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| County: | Lincoln |
| City: | Merrill |
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| Year Built: | 1885 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1991 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Queen Anne |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Clapboard |
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| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | Moulded belt course, bay with clipped first floor corners, large exterior stone chimney. The Leonard Niles Anson House is significant under Criterion C as a distinctive example of Queen Anne style architecture in Merrill. This building is also a contributing structure in the West Main Street Residential Historic District. On July 3, 1848 Leonard Niles Anson was born in Plover, Wisconsin. In 1865 he joined the 52nd Regiment of the Wisconsin Infantry and served until 1866. After the Civil War he worked at Meehan Mills near Plover and married Honora (Hannah) Meehan. In the early 1880's Anson traveled to Merrill and founded Gilkey and Anson Lumber Company (not extant) with George F. Gilkey. From 1898 to 1908 he ran the Anson-Hixon Sash and Door Company with Sigmund Heineman and Frank Hixon. In 1885 L.N. Anson built a large, frame, Queen Anne style residence on Merrill's west side at the corner of W. Main Street and Cottage Street. He lived in this house until his death in the 1920's. Anson's other business interests included Thief River Lumber Company of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Arkansas Lumber Company, Grandfather Falls Paper Mill, and line yards in Indiana and Ohio. He served as a member of the school board and city council, mayor of Merrill from 1890 to 1891, and vice-president of the National Bank of Merrill (not extant). L.N. Anson died sometime between 1925 and 1930. Re-surveyed in 2005. No significant change observed. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) Merrill Centennial, 1883-1983. Merrill Foto News, 1983. (B) Merrill Daily Herald, 26 January 1972. (C) Merrill City Directories, 1893-1945, located at T.B. Scott Free Library, Merrill, WI. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |