| Additional Information: | 2019 City of Fitchburg survey recommendation write-up:
Located along Schumann Drive, Osmundsen Road and Timber Land Circle, the Seminole Forest Parade of Homes Historic District is comprised of thirty-five homes that range in date of construction from 1981 to 1986. As the district’s name would indicate, most of the Seminole Forest Subdivision homes in the delineated boundary (see page 43) were featured on the Madison Area Builders Association Parade of Homes between 1981 and 1983. Just two of the thirty-five homes in the proposed district are considered to be non-contributing (due to their later--2004-2005-- construction dates). Homes in the district include examples of Contemporary, Ranch, Shed, Neo-Colonial and Neo-Tudor architectural styles.
Despite citations that the Parade of Homes first came to Fitchburg in 1980, the first known Fitchburg Parade home was built in 1950—associated with the first home show in the Madison area since 1937. That home, located at the corner of Irish Road and S. Syene Road, remains extant (albeit altered) at 5166 Irish Lane (not surveyed). Thirty years later (in 1980), the (29th) Parade returned to Fitchburg and featured nine homes on Timber Ridge Trail, a short distance north of the subject proposed historic district and also in the Seminole Forest Subdivision. Located one mile south of the Beltline (USH 12/18), the 150-acre subdivision was developed by Gene Barrett (See Chapter 3 for biographical information) with construction beginning in 1978. The 1979 selection of Seminole Forest as the 1980 Parade site was somewhat controversial. Complaints lodged against the site selection charged that it was too remote, with no available shopping or transit. Furthermore, the Seminole Forest lots (which ranged from 10,000 to 40,000 square feet) were considered by some as too large and the homes to be built there too pricey (between $80,000 and $175,000). Barrett countered that shopping was available at the Nakoma Shopping Plaza (opened in 1969 at Verona Road and the Beltline) and that he planned on building a shopping center in 1980. Despite the energy crisis and concern for urban sprawl, people were, in fact, moving to suburban locations, including Fitchburg. Indeed, as of October 1979, twenty-six homes had been built in Seminole Forest, with twenty-four of them already purchased and occupied. Conveniences offered in the yet unincorporated community of Fitchburg included underground utilities and municipal water and sewer. Notably, inflation set in that year and there was some concern that the 1980 Parade may not actually take place—however, tradition prevailed.
For the next four years—1981 through 1984, the Parade was, in part, held in the Seminole Forest Subdivision, which features winding roadways and heavily wooded lots. The 1981 Parade of Homes was different than earlier years, as three sites were chosen instead of two. Homes for the 1981 tour (where the focus was on energy savings and innovative design) ranged in price from $75,000 to $250,000, with the higher-priced homes being located in Seminole Forest (a total of eleven). In 1982, and in a depressed market (there were only fourteen total Parade homes that year, seven of which were in Seminole Forest), home prices in Seminole Forest ranged from $150,000 to $200,000. As of 1983, Parade home prices ranged from $80,000 to $285,000, with the higher priced ones, once again, located in Seminole Forest. Most of the 1983 Seminole Forest homes were Contemporary in design, however, a few reflected traditional styling and homes continued to focus on energy efficiency.
In 1988, the Parade of Homes returned to Fitchburg and featured the developments of Seminole Hills Estates and Seminole Ridge (Cross Country Heights in Verona, was also featured that year). Situated north of Seminole Forest and north of McKee Road/County Highway PD, the seventeen Seminole Hills Parade homes were located on Brynwood and Tree Line Drive. Seminole Ridge, located east of Seminole Forest, included an additional seventeen homes, this grouping clustered at the intersection of Schumann Drive and Dunton Circle. In 1989, Seminole Ridge was again featured (along with two developments in Madison), with sixteen homes located along Forest Down and North Hill Court, while the 1990 Parade returned to both Seminole Ridge (seven homes at Ivanhoe Circle and Forest Down) and Seminole Hills Estates (thirteen homes at Oak Leaf Circle and Tree Line Drive). Although the location of the Parade homes between 1988 and 1990 are identified here, they were not surveyed for this report and should be reviewed as they begin to “come of age.” As well, any post-1990 Fitchburg Parade locations were not investigated.
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| Bibliographic References: | Permit dated 16 October 1985; est. cost, $125,000.
For footnotes to 2019 survey write-up below, along with map of proposed district, See the Historical & Architectural Resources Survey, City of Fitchburg, Dane County, Wisconsin, by Traci E. Schnell/tes | Historical Consulting, LLC, completed in 2019. |
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