An Elegant Edifice

An Elegant Edifice illustrates the broad strokes of American expansionism through the backgrounds and activities of these influential women, complete with marriages and separations, births and deaths, business disputes, lawsuits, and reconciliations. With stories of St. Louis and St. Paul society, the stylish shops of New York City, and the prominence of Prairie du Chien in the nineteenth century, this book reveals the leisure activities and extravagant lifestyle afforded to the family by their wealth—Tiffany jewelry and housewares, William Morris wallpaper and fabrics, Jaccard silver, and a fine art collection to rival the public museums of the era.

Thanks to the women’s fortitude and shared conviction in the importance of family, Villa Louis has been preserved and restored to its 1890s splendor and is today considered one of the most authentically restored Italianate villas in the United States. While previous histories have focused on the Dousman patriarchs, public historian Mary Elise Antoine offers a new perspective on the Dousman family history by bringing into focus Jane, Nina, Violet, and Virginia. These women’s lives—historically less well-documented than the lives of their husbands, fathers, and sons—contributed greatly to the preservation of Villa Louis and to our understanding of an important chapter in American history.

“For anyone who believes Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder offers the complete story of rural life in the Upper Midwest in the late nineteenth century, Mary Elise Antoine’s thoroughly researched, engaging book describing the creation of Villa Louis and the life of its residents will be a complete surprise.” 
 
—Gail Caskey Winkler, author of Victorian Interior Decoration and Capricious Fancy: Draping and Curtaining the Historic Interior 

“Mary Elise Antoine has produced an extraordinarily detailed account of the domestic life of one prominent Wisconsin pioneer family, from the fur trade days to the early twentieth century. Those interested in Villa Louis can learn much more about the family who resided there and made the building what it is today by reading this deeply researched book.”

—Bob Silbernagel, author of The Cadottes: A Fur Trade Family on Lake Superior

“An Elegant Edifice is the book Villa Louis guests have been asking about for many years—but with a twist! Hercules and Louis Dousman take a back seat in the parlor as this work chronicles the stories of the Dousman women, who were often overshadowed by the men. Just like Jane, Nina, Violet, and Virginia, Mary Elise Antoine’s efforts will ensure that the legacy of the Dousman estate will live on for future generations.” 

—Susan Caya-Slusser, Director of Southwest Historic Sites, Wisconsin Historical Society