Property Record
208-212 S ADAMS ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 44611 |
| Location (Address): | 208-212 S ADAMS ST |
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| County: | Grant |
| City: | Lancaster |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
| Section: | |
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| Year Built: | 1851 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2009 |
| Historic Use: | church |
| Architectural Style: | Greek Revival |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Aluminum/Vinyl Siding |
| Architect: | E. B. TENNEY, BUILDER |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | THIS LARGE, PLAIN, TWO-STORY STRUCTURE IS CHARACTERIZED BY RECANGULAR OPENINGS AND RETURNED EAVES. THE INTENSIVE SURVEY REPORT LISTS THE BUILDING TO BE IN GOOD CONDITION. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: THIS LARGE FRAME BUILDING, CONSTRUCTED IN 1851, SERVED AS THE FIRST CHURCH OF LANCASTER'S CONGREGATIONAL SOCIETY, WHICH HAD BEEN ORGANIZED IN 1843. IN 1850, SUBSCRIPTIONS WERE SOLICITED BUT CONSTRUCTION WAS DELAYED UNTIL 1851. THE CHURCH WAS CONSECRATED DECEMBER 2, 1851, AND DESCRIBED AS "A MODEST STRUCTURE FORTY FEET IN LENGTH BY THIRTY IN WIDTH, AND COST $700; THE BUILDER WAS E. B. TENNEY." (A). THE BUILDING'S INTERIOR WAS COMPLETED SOMEWHAT LATER AND IN 1860, AN ADDITION WAS BUILT ON THE FRONT OF THE STRUCTURE. (A). DURING THSES EARLY YEARS, THE CHURCH ALSO SERVED AS A SCHOOLHOUSE. IN 1852, THOSE IN THE COMMUNITY WISHING TO CONTINUE THE TRADITION OF PRIVATE EDUCATION ESTABLISHED AN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF A MR. DEMARIST. FOLLOWING THE SUCCESS OF THIS EFFORT, A PERMANENT FACILITY (NO LONGER STANDING) WAS BUILT AND IN USE UNTIL 1870. (A). IN 1873, AFTER THE COMPLETION OF A NEW CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH AT THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF MADISON AND CHERRY STREETS, (THIS BUILDING WAS REPLACED IN 1971), THIS STRUCTURE WAS SOLD TO E. H. BORAH FOR $700 AND REMODELED (THE BUILDING WAS RAISED AND A STORY ADDED) FOR USE AS A DWELLING AND SHOP. (A,B). (SEE FINAL REPORT FOR MORE INFORMATION REGARDING THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH AND EDUCATION IN LANCASTER). SINCE FIRST SURVEYED IN 1976 THIS BUILDING HAS BEEN RESIDED IN VINYL AND IT NO LONGER POSSESSES ANY STYLISTIC FEATURES. The driving force behind Lancaster's early Congregational Church was Rev. Samuel W. Eaton, its pastor from 1846 to 1886 and his wife Catherine. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY , WISCONSIN. (CHICAGO: WESTERN HISTORICAL CO., 1881), P. 662, 666. B. TAX ASSESSMENT RECORDS, ARC, UW-PLATTEVILLE. Lancaster's Historic Courthouse Square, Lancaster Historic Preservation Commission, 2006. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |