Property Record
405 Bram Street
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Willie Lou and George Harris House |
|---|---|
| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 241078 |
| Location (Address): | 405 Bram Street |
|---|---|
| County: | Dane |
| City: | Madison |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
| Section: | |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1950 |
|---|---|
| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2019 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Ranch |
| 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: | City of Madison, Wisconsin Underrepresented Communities Historic Resource Survey Report: Willie Lou Harris, who was married to George Harris, moved to Madison from Georgia and the couple had five children: Calvin, Richard, Donald, Charles, and Georgia. Willie Lou Harris was the first licensed Black practical nurse in Madison and worked as a caretaker at the Wisconsin General Hospital. The Harris’s bought their house at 405 Bram Street in 1927. She was also closely involved in the African American community and the Bram’s Addition neighborhood. In 1934, George and Willie purchased eight lots in South Madison, then outside the city limits. The area was annexed in 1944, and the streets paved. The intention from that time on was to develop the lots into homes for their families. During the late 1940s, Willie Lou Harris led an effort to construct several Minimal Traditional style houses along the 400 block of Bram Street. Much of the building material was taken from wrecked military barracks from Truax Field, which were disassembled, moved, and reconstructed in the Bram’s Addition neighborhood. Four adjacent buildings in all were completed by the early 1950s. The family was closely involved in Mount Zion Baptist Church, which relocated to the same neighborhood during the same period. For more information on Mount Zion Baptist Church, please see the Religion chapter. George Harris was a deacon with the church, and Willie worked closely with then Reverend Washington on several issues including the establishment of a Black women’s group of active citizens called the Mothers Watch Group in addition to the establishment of the Madison branch of the NAACP and the South Madison Neighborhood Center in the late 1940s. Willie Lou Harris, along with Kenneth Newville and George Gerard, organized the move of two army barracks from Truax Field in 1949 for use as the South Madison Neighborhood Center at 2001 Taft Street. For more information on the South Madison Neighborhood Center and the NAACP-Madison Chapter, please see the Social and Political Movements chapter. One of her sons, Richard, became the director of the center and later led a successful lawsuit against the discriminatory and segregationist school closings of the Madison Metropolitan School District. Willie Lou Harris died in 1954. |
|---|---|
| Bibliographic References: |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |