| Additional Information: | 1990 information
DESCRIPTION
TThis barn is a large gable roofed structure with board siding, large sliding doors, and a fieldstone foundation, and numerous windows arn doors in the foundation. In the center of the barn is a steeply-pitched gable, a feature seen on many of Mequon's barns.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
This property was owned by J.H. Thesfeldt in 1867. [a]
As of 1990, the property was owned/operated as Cedarburg Landscaping.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
Inital research indicates that this barn is not historically significant for the National Register of Historic Places for history.
2023: A photo, in color, was taken as an update only. There was no mention of a house on this property in the 1990 description. Although No Trespassing signs are posted at the driveway, you can see through the thick foliage that there is a 1960s-era, vinyl-sided ranch house (not sureyable) on the lot, which replaced the earlier farmhouse. Assessor's information inidcates that the house was built in 1963. Although the barn is clearly old, it alone is not potentially eligible for the Register as it is not a distinctive type of barn (like a round or polygonal barn).
The Thesfeldts were early settlers in Ozaukee County, having immigrated to the U.S. in 1844 and purchased land at this location in 1846. The family included father Gerhard Dieterich (b.1800), Sophie (b. 1801) and sons Dieterich, Henry and John. Father Gerhard Dieterich died sometime between 1860 and 1873, by which time the property was run by son Heinrich, who never married (His brother John owned the parcel directly to the east); Sophia died in 1871. Heinrich died in 1900. Owners thereafter included N. Thelen (1921 plat) and Charles Haeuser (1939, 1948). THe property is today owned by Environmental Solutions, Inc., a landscaping contracting firm. |
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| Bibliographic References: | [a] Plat Maps for the city of Mequon, 1867-1980, on file at the Mequon Historical Society, Mequon, Wisconsin, or the Archives at the State Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin.
[b] Tax Rolls for the city of Mequon, 1857-1930, on file at the library, Mequon, Wisconsin.
[c] Field observation based on architectural and historical information.
[d] Information from the owner of the property.
[e] Information from the building's datestone or inscription.
[f] Freistadt Historical Society, Freistadt and the Lutheran Immigration, Mequon: Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1989.
[g] L. Rehm, Mequon History, on file at the Mequon Historical Society, Mequon, Wisconsin.
[h] C.W. Butterfield, History of Washington and Ozaukee Counties, Chicago: Western Publishing Company, 1880.
[i] Information from the Mequon Landmarks Commission, Mequon, Wisconsin. |
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