Property Record
24425 3RD ST (AKA 88 3RD ST)
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | First Baptist Church |
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| Other Name: | Modern Woodmen of America, Liberty Peak Camp No. 2813 |
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| Reference Number: | 51875 |
| Location (Address): | 24425 3RD ST (AKA 88 3RD ST) |
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| County: | Trempealeau |
| City: | Trempealeau |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1886 |
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| Additions: | C. 1906 |
| Survey Date: | 198120202019 |
| Historic Use: | social recreational/fraternal hall |
| Architectural Style: | Front Gabled |
| Structural System: | Unknown |
| Wall Material: | Aluminum/Vinyl Siding |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | Although severly altered in 1904-07, when the tower and belfry were removed, the structure was underpinned, and classical revival details were added--this building retains some interest as one of the oldest remaining structures in the town. The Modern Woodman's Association bought the building in the early 1900's, remodeled it, removed the belfry tower, and underpinned it with a basement. The structure had been built in 1866 by the Baptist Association which was instituted in 1857 by Reverend. J.M. Winn and 23 members. (Services had been held in the oldschool house and at the hall on Front Street before the church was built.) The structure now belongs to the V.F.W. of Trempealeau, which was formed in 1947. In the yard west of the structure stands a memorial to the ear dead of Trempealeau. Online research (MAP) in 2019 found that this formerly clapboard-sided building has now been resided in vinyl and most of its windows have now been covered over with vinyl siding as well. 2020: Rising from a rock-faced, concrete block foundation this front-gabled building is sheathed vinyl siding. A round-arched, recessed entryway provides access to the main floor (as does a doorway along the rear of the west side of the structure), while an east side, concrete block entrance addition (as well as a single door at the north end of the west elevation) allows access to the basement-level tavern. A single, double-hung window is located right (west) of the primary front entry. Three stone markers, along with three flags are located in a landscaped, plaza-type space west of the building. Following land purchase by the Baptist Association in 1865, this structure was built the following year at a cost of $2,300 as the 1st Baptist Church--the congregation of which was formed in 1857. Prior to the church’s construction, services were held in the local school house, as well as a hall on Front Street. In 1906, the building was sold to the Modern Woodmen of America, Liberty Peak Camp No. 2813, for use as their meeting hall. Upon their purchase, the group removed the belfry tower and added a basement and, based on Sanborn maps, they also appear to have added to both the front and the rear, thus dating the existing entrance to 1906. Finally, in 1974, by which time the bank owned the building, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post (est. 1946) purchased it and it currently serves as the Towner-Little Bear-Arnold V.F.W. Post 1915. The group operates a bar—known as The Vet’s Bar and Lounge--out of the building’s basement. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. Trempealeau Historical Album, 1867-1967. Citations for 2020 survey information below: Benjamin & Lucy Healy to the Baptist Association, Warranty Deed (20 September 1865), Book 7/Page 87; Trustees of the First Baptist Church to the Modern Woodmen of America, Liberty Peak Camp No. 2813, Warranty Deed (21 April 1906), 56/1, Document #63812; Bank to the VFW Post #1915, Real Estate Agreement (14 November 1974), 214/185, #208722; History of Northern Wisconsin (Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1881), 1045; Sanborn Map Company, Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Trempealeau, Wis. (New York: Sanborn Map Company, 1900, 1910); “Baptist Church,” Record #51875, Available online at www.wisconsinhistory.org, Accessed July 2020; “Trempealeau VFW Marks 25th Year,” Winona (MN) Daily News, 24 October 1971, 12. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |