Meissner Store Listed in the State Register of Historic Places

ASHIPPUN, Wis. - The Wisconsin Historical Society announces the listing of the Meissner Store in the town of Ashippun (Dodge County) on the State Register of Historic Places. The store was the first commercial enterprise in the community known today as Old Ashippun. State Historic Preservation Officer Daina Penkiunas presented a certificate to Athena Big Mountain.

Meissner Store is comprised of an original general store building and four additions constructed between 1873 and the 1940s. The original false-front store and a gabled cream brick addition share a covered porch that runs the full length of the front façade of the building. Gustave Meissner, the first proprietor of the general store, catered to a predominantly German agricultural community that had formed amid farmland and wilderness. The store served as one of the earliest surviving post offices in Ashippun township, which was critical to keeping the largely immigrant community connected to their families in the days before rural mail delivery.

The tavern, housed in the brick addition, was an important recreational, business and social outlet for the surrounding rural community. The second floor of the tavern served as one of the only hotels along State Highway 67 between Oconomowoc and Neosho, critical in the late nineteenth century when travelers passed through on foot or by ox- and horse-drawn wagons. Eventually, the property was converted to a dance hall and supper club. For more than 150 years it has served as a commercial and social center for the community and today operates as the Maple Inn.

The State Register is Wisconsin's official list of state properties determined to be significant to Wisconsin's heritage. The State Historic Preservation Office at the Wisconsin Historical Society administers both the State Register and National Register in Wisconsin.

Additional information for the Meissner Store is available at https://wisconsinhistory.org/Records/NationalRegister/NR2814

To learn more about the State and National Register programs in Wisconsin, visit: www.wisconsinhistory.org.

About the Wisconsin Historical Society

The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and most diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. The Wisconsin Historical Society serves millions of people every year through a wide range of sites, programs and services. The Wisconsin Historical Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, receives grants and private contributions benefitting the Wisconsin Historical Society and administers the membership program. For more information, visit www.wisconsinhistory.org.