Property Record
NW CORNER OF 1ST AVE AND FIRST ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | |
|---|---|
| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 66368 |
| Location (Address): | NW CORNER OF 1ST AVE AND FIRST ST |
|---|---|
| County: | Lafayette |
| City: | Benton |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
| Section: | |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1884 |
|---|---|
| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1982 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Side Gabled |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Asbestos |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | A FRAME TWO STORY (COVERED WITH ASPHALT SIDING) WITH A SLOPING ROOF THAT IS SIDED WITH THE LONG SIDE OF THE HOUSE FACING THE STREET. A DECORATIVE BRACKETED DOOR HOOD ACCENTS THE SIMPLE SYMMETRICALLY DESIGNED STRUCTURE. A ONE STORY ADDITION EXTENDS AT THE REAR. THIS HOUSE IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE OF ITS ASSOCIATION WITH JOHN A. BECK, A LARGE GRAIN AND LUMBER DEALER OF BENTON IN THE LATE 19TH CENTURY. JOHN BECK WAS BORN ON THE ISLE OF MAN, ENGLAND AND CAME TO BENTON WITH HIS FATHER, THOMAS BECK, IN 1864. JOHN ENLISTED IN THE ARMY AND SERVED IN THE FINAL PHASES OF THE CIVIL WAR. AT THE CLOSE OF THE WAR HE BEGAN LEAD MINING NEAR NEW DIGGINGS AND CONTINUED THAT SIX YEARS. HE THEN MILLED AT NEW DIGGINGS THREE YEARS FOR R. H. EMERSON. HE LOCATED PERMANENTLY IN BENTON IN 1875. SINCE THAT TIME HE WAS ENGAGED IN THE LUMBER BUSINESS AND GRAIN TRADE.(C) IT IS POSSIBLE THAT HIS FATHER, THOMAS, WAS INVOLVED IN THE BUSINESS WITH HIM. THE LARGE GRAIN WAREHOUSE AND LUMBER YARD IS LOCATED FARTHER SOUTH OF THIS HOUSE ON THE SAME STREET. IN 1874-75, THE RAILROAD FROM GALENA HAD BEEN BUILT TO BENTON AND PLATTEVILLE, THUS MAKING IT EASIER TO GET LUMBER AND TRANSPORT GRAIN TO MARKET. THE WAREHOUSE WAS LOCATED NEAR THE RAIL LINE. IN 1884, BECK HAD THIS HOUSE BUILT FOR HIS FAMILY.(B) THE STREET UPON WHICH IT IS LOCATED WAS LAID OUT SOME TIME BETWEEN THE RAILROAD COMING TO BENTON (1875) AND WHEN BECK BUILT HIS HOUSE (1884). THIS STREET WAS THE MAJOR STREET BETWEEN THE DEPOT AND MAIN STREET.(B,E). BECK WAS ALSO A LEADER IN THE COMMUNITY. HE WAS INVOLVED IN GETTING THE 1908 BRICK HIGH SCHOOL BUILT. HE SERVED AS JUSTICE OF THE PEACE FOR FIVE YEARS AND AS VILLAGE CLERK AND PRESIDENT OF THE VILLAGE BOARD.(C) HE DIED IN 1916. HIS SON, JOHN G. BECK, TOOK OVER THE BUSINESS.(D) |
|---|---|
| Bibliographic References: | BENTON PLAT MAP, 1895. SHULLSBURG PICK AND GAD, 24 JULY 1884 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 1901, P. 369-71. J. G. GREGORY, SOUTHWESTERN WISCONSIN, 1932, P. 222. PLAT MAP OF BENTON, 1874. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |