| Additional Information: | This small, one-story commercial vernacular building is a brick building [presently painted on the east elevation] with a sided upper facade. The contemporary storefront, also sided, displays small windows flanked by a recessed entrance with a metal and glass door.
This vernacular brick building, originally constructed with a corner entrance, has received a contemporary storefront with a central entrance.
This building apparently was built in 1919-1920 for H.W. Jefferson. However, this building, as well as the frame E.H. Hatch building previously on the site, evidently was used originally by the Wettstein Meat Market. Wettstein also owned the property on the south end of the lot at the time this building was constructed. He had a "business building" constructed on West Oak Street in 1914.
The Jefferson Building does not meet the criteria of the NRHP for architectural significance because of a lack of integrity. Also, because its historic architectural character has been diminished by the alteration of its facade, this building does not contribute to the historic character of the Water Street Historic District.
The H.W. Jefferson Building was constructed in 1920, by Harley W. Jefferson, the son of W.T. Jefferson, the founder of the Jefferson Leaf Tobacco Company. W.T. Jefferson had been the former manager of the American Tobacco Company and had considerable experience in the tobacco industry in Virginia and in Wisconsin. In 1909, Jefferson Leaf Tobacco Company incorporated by W.T. Jefferson, his son Harley W. and several other individuals. By 1920, the business was so successful that the Company completed a large warehouse at 301 East Oak Street and the H.W. Jefferson building where their offices were located. By 1920, the company had also grown to the point that it also had a large branch in Black River Falls.
By 1933, the Jefferson Leaf Tobacco Company processing warehouses in Sparta were still going strong, and Sparta continued as a center for tobacco processing for sometime thereafter. The Jefferson Leaf Tobacco Company was still visible in the 1930's, but it is not known how long they occupied the building thereafter.
The H.W. Jefferson Building gain slocal signifiance under Criteria A in association with the topic Miscellaneous Small Businesses and Light Industries under Sparta's industry theme. The building demonstrates the contribution of the tobacco industry to Sparta's economy and the building's period of historical signifiance ranges from its erection in 1920 to World War II or later. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) Richards, Randolph A., History of Monroe County, Wisconsin: Past and. Present, Including an Account of the Cities, Towns, and Villages of the County. Chicago: C.F. Cooper & Co., 1912, pp. 284 and 323.
(B) Gregory, John G., West Central Wisconsin: A History. Vols. 2 and 3, Indianapolis: S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1933, p. 854, p. 197, and 215-216.
(C) Koehler, Lyle P., From Frontier Settlement to Self-Conscious American Community: A History of One Rural Village (Sparta, Wisconsin) in the Ninteenth Century. Evansville, Indiana: Unigraphic, Inc., 1977, p. 96.
(D) Jones, Ida Lucille, "A History of Sparta, Wisconsin." B.A. Thesis. University of Wisconsin, 1915, pp. 10 and 11.
(E) Monroe County Democrat July 20, 1933.
(F) Sanborn Perris Insurance Maps 1884, 1889, 1894, 1900, 1911, 1922, 1931.
(G) City of Sparta Tax Records, 1879-1930.
(H) Sparta Herald Jan. 19, 1915. |
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