Property Record
5160 S CALHOUN RD
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Kau Farmstead |
|---|---|
| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 230019 |
| Location (Address): | 5160 S CALHOUN RD |
|---|---|
| County: | Waukesha |
| City: | New Berlin |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | 6 |
| Range: | 20 |
| Direction: | E |
| Section: | 27 |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1900 |
|---|---|
| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 20152019 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Cross Gabled |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Aluminum/Vinyl Siding |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | 2015: The Kau Farmstead consists of five historic resources including a house [230019], dairy barn [230020], one tile silo [230021], one concrete silo [230029] and an animal barn [230022]. The property also contains two recently constructed (c. 1985) resources, neither of which was surveyed due to their recent construction dates: a pole barn and office structure. The two-story cross-gabled farmhouse was constructed c.1900. It is square in plan with aluminum siding and an asphalt shingled roof. The front elevation faces west and is symmetrical in plan, with an asphalt-shingled porch spanning the first story of the front gable. The foundation and half-wall of the porch is constructed of stone with wooden posts decorated with brackets at the corners. The central front door with a sidelight on the right is located on the porch in a projecting bay. The bay is flanked on either side by a 1-over-1 double-hung window. Centered on the second story above the porch is a course of four 1-over-1 double-hung windows, with a single-paned octagonal window centered above in the peak of the gable. Four wooden brackets support the deep eaves of the roof. The side gables project symmetrically from either side of the front gable. The property consists of five historic resources constructed c. 1900. During this time period, Waukesha's dairy industry was growing, as was the production of feed crops necessary to supply such an industry. According to the Wisconsin CRMP, by 1890 the harvest of 90 percent of the state's cropland was consumed on the farms where it was grown. The dairy business continued to expand throughout the early twentieth century, with Waukesha being named "Cow County, USA" at the end of the first World War due to the fact that the county had more cows than people. The CRMP identifies the buildings associated with historic dairying and feed crop production as dairy barns, silos, grain bins, corncribs, and milk and cheese houses. Of these, the Kau Farmstead contains a historic dairy barn with silos. The animal barn on the property is an outbuilding that would be typical of any early-twentieth century farmstead. Based on available historic aerial imagery, it appears that two original outbuildings were demolished over the course of time (a large gable-roofed barn and small shed near Calhoun Road). A square outbuilding dating from the 1940s, located southeast of the dairy barn, was demolished for the construction of an office structure around 1985. 2019: The south elevation of the house was originally the front of the house. It was later altered with the porch addition and the house was oriented to the roadway. |
|---|---|
| Bibliographic References: | 2019: Per the current homeowner (it is still in the Kau family), the house was built originally by Sylvanus Gilbert, pre-1900. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |