| Additional Information: | 2021 Survey information:
This former lumber and coal yard consists of four structures built between 1932 and circa 1950. The oldest building on the property is located at the northwest corner of N. Lake Avenue and E. Elm Street. One story in height and topped with a gabled roof covered with asphalt shingles, this building (Building #1, 1932; AHI#243589) is comprised of an office area at the front (west) and warehouse storage to the rear. The office portion is covered with half-log siding on the first floor, while the gabled peak, accented with wooden knee bracing, is sheathed with vertical board siding. A shed-roof overhang with wooden knee bracing extends across the entire entrance elevation, sheltering a central door with flanking rectangular window openings, some of which have been boarded over. Windows along the north and south walls are largely square openings that have also been boarded over. The rear warehouse portion is sheathed with asphalt shingles, while the windows, which run immediately beneath the roof’s eave, have been either been installed with venting or boarded over. A full-height, gabled porch entry extends south from the building’s office portion.
Located south of the office/warehouse is a one-story, T-shaped building (Building #2, Ca. 1935; AHI#243590), the west portion of which is flanked by stepped parapet endwalls constructed of concrete block, while the street-facing (west) elevation is covered with vertical board. A pair of two-light, square windows and a single door are located along the west elevation, while the concrete block endwalls include window openings that are boarded over. Windows within the stem portion of the T-shaped building are also largely infilled with a variety of materials. The roof is covered with a combination of asphalt shingles and metal.
Building #3 (1940; AHI#243591), is located north of Building #2. Oriented on an east/west axis, the structure is topped with a low-pitched, gabled roof covered with metal. The east and west ends of the building are solid walls comprised of horizontal board siding, while the north and south sides are open to the elements. The number “3” is located near its gabled peak, along the west endwall.
Finally, Building #4 (Ca. 1950; AHI#243592) is located immediately east of the office/warehouse building and also runs parallel to E. Elm Street. Although partially obscured by foliage, the structure has a raised foundation of concrete block, atop which rests a Quonset-like roof constructed of corrugated metal. A metal fence line runs just east of Building #4 and runs along the east and south property lines, while an additional length encloses the yard from the south and connects to Building #2. No historic images of the lumber yard buildings were located.
The buildings on this property were built by the F. H. Himes Lumber & Coal Company. Himes Lumber was established by Col. Forest H. Himes, who was born in Merrill, Wisconsin in 1886. Himes enlisted in Co. L, 2nd Wisconsin Infantry of the National Guard at Rhinelander in 1907 and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1910. He saw action during the Mexican Border Crisis, as well as in France during World War I. In 1919, Himes moved to Crandon from Rhinelander after being hired as the general manager of the C.W. Fish Lumber Co. sawmill located along the south shore of Clear Lake at the north end of Crandon. In 1922, he married Thelma Lucile Moe of Crandon, with whom he had two children. The following year, Himes purchased the Fish sawmill operation, as well as an adjacent retail lumber yard from the Dawley Northern Lumber Co. In 1932, the retail yard was moved to its current location on N. Lake Avenue, at which time the northwest warehouse building (Building #1) was built. By no later than 1938, Building #2 was erected, as evidenced on historic aerial images of Crandon. In 1940, Building #3, a lumber storage warehouse was added to the grounds. Although no specific date of construction could be found for Building #4 at the northeast corner of the property, it appears to circa-date to 1950. In 1952, Himes purchased the seventeen-mile rail line of the Chicago and North Western Railroad, which ran from Crandon to Pelican Lake and it was thereafter used solely for his lumber business. In 1958, the retail division of the Himes lumber business (this lumber yard and one in Three Lakes) was sold to C.T. Engman of Milwaukee; however, Himes retained his saw mill and planing mill operation. At one point, Himes also had lumber yards in Wabeno and Elcho. Himes died in 1963.
After operating as the Himes-Engman Lumber Company, it was later owned by Allen Keepers and operated as Argonne Lumber & Supply, the signage of which remains on the grounds. The main building was, more recently, the home of Bean’s Boats (as evidenced on the signage on the building), a maker of nautical-themed, furniture, which was run by Gene “Bean” Mullins and his wife Deb. The buildings no longer operate as a business; however, at least one building is used for storage.
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| Bibliographic References: | Footnotes for information in Additional Comments below:
“Himes Is Manager,” The Appleton (WI) Post-Crescent, 6 November 1919, 2; “Buys Dawley Yards Here,” The Forest Republican, 12 January 1923, 1; “Himes to Erect Big Warehouse at Athletic Park,” The Forest Republican, 25 August 1932, 1; “Himes’ New Warehouse Nearly Completed,” The Forest Republican, 10 November 1932, 1; “Himes Lumber Company Building Warehouse,” The Forest Republican, 18 July 1940, 1; “Crandon Branch Line Rail Service Will End July 27,” The Rhinelander Daily News, 21 July 1951, 2; “Firm Purchases 17-Mile Rail Line,” The Sheboygan (WI) Press, 12 April 1952, 14; “Himes Lumber Yard Business is Traded,” Green Bay (WI) Press-Gazette, 5 January 1959, 22; “Col. Himes, Noted State Lumber Dealer, Dies at 77,” Green Bay Press Gazette, 25 July 1963, 35; “Col. Himes Dies at Age 76,” The Capital Times, 26 July 1963, 4; “Himes Lumber Firm Changes Ownership,” The Rhinelander Daily News, 19 December 1958, 3; Wisconsin Historic Aerial Image Finder, Available online at https://maps.sco.wisc.edu/WHAIFinder/#7/44.750/-89.750, Accessed October 2021. Prior to the construction of the retail lumber business, the grounds served as the Himes’ Athletic Park. Even after the construction of the 1932 warehouse, the baseball diamond was moved to the southern half of the property, where Building #2 now stands. The park was no longer in use as of circa 1935, following the construction of the Forest County Athletic Field (with CWA funding) at the county fairgrounds, “New Athletic Field Has Been Approved,” The Forest Republican, 28 December 1928, 1; “Finishing Rough Work at County Athletic Park,” The Forest Republican, 13 June 1935, 1. Information regarding Himes’ service included in “The 32nd Infantry Division in World War II The ‘Red Arrow’,” Available online at www.32nd-division.org/history/ww2/32ww2-1.html, Accessed November 2021.
“Floating Their Own Boat,” The Country Today (Eau Claire, Wisconsin), 24 November 2004, 29. |
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