Property Record
ON MENOMONEE RIVER NEAR MAIN ST AND WATER ST INTERSECTION
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Mill Dam and Pond |
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| Other Name: | Menomonee River Falls |
| Contributing: | No |
| Reference Number: | 8080 |
| Location (Address): | ON MENOMONEE RIVER NEAR MAIN ST AND WATER ST INTERSECTION |
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| County: | Waukesha |
| City: | Menomonee Falls |
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| Year Built: | 1954 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1979 |
| Historic Use: | dam/lock |
| Architectural Style: | NA (unknown or not a building) |
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| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Main Street Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 9/21/1988 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: | Multiple Resources of Menominee Falls |
| Additional Information: | FOUNTAIN ADDED BETWEEN 1975 & 1979. Present Dam builder was Syl Baudheim. Present dam was constructed of stone and concrete materials obtained from the Conoco Stone Co. on the site of the original 1886 dam. Jesse Nehs constructed the original dam and a four story grist mill in 1851. He retired in 1881 and rented the mill to M.F. Leper and Simon Schlafer; in 1883, they purchased it. After the dam washed out in 1886, Leper completely rebuilt it. He owned the mill until 1921. The Semon family purchased the mill in 1939. This Mill Dam and Pond was destroyed in 1939 when an ice dam was dynamited. Originally built to furnish power for the Leper Mill, which was demolished in 1964, the present dam and pond were reconstructed in 11/1954 by volunteers supervised by the city engineer. The entire area along the banks of the river from the Third Street Bridge to Main St., deeded to the city in 1953 by Arthur T. Jacobson and adjoining property owners, was developed into a city park. The Semon family operated the mill until 1955 when they remodeled it to house their department store. It was then demolished in 1964 during the enlargement of the Farmer's and Merchant's Bank. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Menomonee Falls Diamond Jubilee, 1892-1967 booklet, 8. Wesley Goode, Sr., "History of Menomonee Falls", Farmer's and Mercahnt's Bank, 50 Years in Menomonee Falls, 1958. Goode, 1955. Johnson, 1985: 4. Johnson, 1981: 17-18, 44-48. Waukesha Freeman 1/9/1890. Menomonee Falls News 5/16/1924. Waukesha Freeman 7/3/1884. Menomonee Falls News 1/7/1921. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |