Property Record
NW CNR OF US 12 AND STATE HIGHWAY 20 & 67
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | WILLIAM HOUGHTON FARM |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 9948 |
| Location (Address): | NW CNR OF US 12 AND STATE HIGHWAY 20 & 67 |
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| County: | Walworth |
| City: | |
| Township/Village: | La Grange |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | 4 |
| Range: | 16 |
| Direction: | E |
| Section: | 14 |
| Quarter Section: | SE |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: | SE |
| Year Built: | 1858 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 19742022 |
| Historic Use: | historic site |
| Architectural Style: | NA (unknown or not a building) |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | HOME OF JOHN FRANCIS APPLEBY, WHO INVENTED THE "KNOTTER", A DEVICE FOR BINDING SH EAVES OF GRAIN, IN 1858 This site consists of a stone marker with a bronze plaque containing the text “Houghton Farm where John F. Appleby Made ‘Knotter’ 1858.” The marker sits at the front of the property, behind the ditch along USH 12. The marker commemorates the invention of a device to knot twine around bundles of grain. John Appleby created a wood model of the device, which was then fashioned into metal by the blacksmith on the farm. The device became very popular, and many other companies made their own versions. Appleby died in 1917, and in October 1926 the commemorative bronze tablet was placed on the Houghton farm at the site of the original blacksmith shop. |
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| Bibliographic References: |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |