Property Record
310 N MAIN ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | WESTERN HOTEL |
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| Other Name: | APARTMENTS |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 50286 |
| Location (Address): | 310 N MAIN ST |
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| County: | Iowa |
| City: | Dodgeville |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1849 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1984 |
| Historic Use: | lodging-hotel |
| Architectural Style: | Greek Revival |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Aluminum/Vinyl Siding |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | Yes |
| Demolished Date: | 2020 |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | THIS TWO-STORY HOTEL FEATURES A RECTANGULAR-SHAPED PLAN CONFIGURATION, A CUT STONE FOUNDATION, AN ALUMINUM/VINYL-SIDED EXTERIOR AND A GABLE ROOF. ELEMENTS THAT DISTINGUISH THIS FORMER HOTEL AS BEING GREEK REVIVAL IN STYLE ARE CORNER PILASTERS, FRIEZE BOARDS AND CORNICE RETURNS. ADDITIONS HAVE BEEN MADE TO THIS C. 1849 RESIDENCE, WHICH IS PRESENTLY IN GOOD CONDITION. (SEE BIB. REF. A). HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: THE FIRST WESTERN HOTEL WAS OPENED BY COLONEL THOMAS STEPHENS WHO IN 1847 COMPLETED THE STRUCTURE BEGUN BY JOSEPH VINCENT. (THE STEPHENS RESIDENCE IS LOCATED AT 417 W. WALNUT STREET, 49/15). STEPHENS MANAGED THE HOTEL UNTIL IT WAS DESTROYED BY FIRE IN NOVEMBER 1848. REBUILDING JUST SOUTH OF THE ORIGINAL SITE, THE COLONEL RENTED THE NEW BUILDING TO WILLIAM ROWE, WHO OPERATED THE HOTEL FROM 1850 TO 1852, WHEN STEPHENS RETURNED FROM CALIFORNIA AND TOOK CONTROL UNTIL 1854. IN THAT YEAR THE WESTERN WAS SOLD TO JOHN ROBERTS WHO SUBSEQUENTLY RAISED THE BUILDING AND ADDED A BASEMENT AND BAR-ROOM. ACCORDING TO THE COUNTY HISTORY, THIS WAS, DURING "THE EARLY TIMES," ONE OF DODGEVILLE'S LEADING HOTELS, BUT AS THE COMMUNITY'S BUSINESS DISTRICT MOVED FROM N. MAIN STREET TO IOWA STREET, THE HOTEL LOST ITS PROMINENCE. IN 1879, ROBERTS DIED AND HIS WIDOW MANAGED THE HOSTELRY "ON THE TEMPERANCE PLAN." (SEE BIB. REF. B). THE BUILDING LATER SERVED AS A BOARDING HOUSE AND A DWELLING. (SEE BIB. REF. A, C). |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. DODGEVILLE CHRONICLE, 2 JULY 1927. B. HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY, WISCONSIN (CHICAGO: WESTERN HISTORICAL CO., 1881), P. 758. C. 1905, 1915, 1927 SANBORN PERRIS MAPS. D. 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 |