Property Record
210 N IOWA ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | HENRY AND JAMES ROWE BUILDING |
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| Other Name: | FAGER OFFICE EQUIPMENT |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 49818 |
| Location (Address): | 210 N IOWA ST |
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| County: | Iowa |
| City: | Dodgeville |
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| Year Built: | 1868 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1984 |
| Historic Use: | general store |
| Architectural Style: | Commercial Vernacular |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Cut Stone |
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| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Iowa Street Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 9/6/1996 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 3/25/1996 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | Designed in the Commercial Vernacular style, this two-story retail building was constructed in 1868. (See Bib. Ref. A). It features a rectangular shaped plan configuration, a limestone exterior, and a flat roof. Prominent brick work, probably a later addition, appears along the cornice. Stone lintels and heavy stone sills distinguish the windows on the second story. The intact storefront is supported by cast iron columns. The side walls of the building are composed of rubble. An external staircase at the north elevation is visible, due to the adjacent vacant lot. The building is in good condition. Architectural/Engineering Significance: Built in 1868 and located directly south of the Iowa County Courthouse, the H & J Rowe Building is an excellent example of stone construction and of commercial vernacular architecture. The nearly intact business block features a facade of limestone ashlar, the large blocks finely cut and laid in regular rows. The quality of the construction is indicative of the work of the local builders, many of them natives of Cornwall, England. Historical Background: Henry and James Rowe, brothers born in Cornwall, England, opened their general store in this newly constructed building in 1868. In 1872, following the death of James, another brother, Joseph, entered the firm and the name remained H & J Rowe. (See Bib. Ref. B). According to one account, the local business stocked "dry goods, ladies' and gentlemen's furnishing goods, clothing, clocks, boots, shoes, hats, caps, staple and fancy groceries, crockery, and glassware." (See Bib. Ref. C). Later occupants of the building's first floor included a dry goods store (1894), a general merchandise business (1899, 1905), and a store (1927). In 1915 the lower story was unoccupied. (See Bib. Ref. D). In the last half of the nineteenth century the second floor of the Rowe building was used as a meeting hall by various temperance groups. The Eureka Lodge, No. 103 of the International Order of Good Templars (IOGT) was established in 1871 by dissident members of the Annicitia Lodge, No. 43 of the IOGT, a group which had been formed in 1860. In 1881, the Eureka Lodge had sixty members. (See Bib. Ref. E). A second temperance organization, the Dodgeville Temple of Honor, was established in February 1879 when fifty members of Mineral Point's Templar Lodge held a torchlight procession through Dodgeville, attracting those interested in forming a new temperance society. A charter for the Dodgeville Temple was granted just one week after the dramatic procession. Initially, meetings were held in the Rowe building, but in 1880, the group moved next door to the Rogers Block (206 N. Iowa Street, 44/13). (See Bib. Ref. F). As of 2015, the property was owned by Earl's Farm LLC. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. Tax Assessment Records, City of Dodgeville, Area Research Center, UW-Platteville. B. "History of Iowa County, Wisconsin," (Chicago: Western Historical Co., 1881), p. 900. C. "Sunday Telegraph," 4 May 1890. D. 1894, 1899, 1905, 1915, 1927 Sanborn Perris Maps. E. "History of Iowa County, Wisconsin," p. 760. F. Ibid., p. 761. G. Walking Tour of Historic Dodgeville, Wisconsin, Dodgeville Historic Preservation Commission, 1995. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |