Brisbois House

For the first Brisbois House, see Michel Brisbois § Brisbois House (I).

Significant dates

Brisbois House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Brisbois House in 1975
Show map of Wisconsin Show map of the US
Location	Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
Coordinates	43°3′15″N 91°9′35″W / 43.05417°N 91.15972°W / 43.05417; -91.15972Coordinates: 43°3′15″N 91°9′35″W / 43.05417°N 91.15972°W / 43.05417; -91.15972
Built	1840
Architect	Unknown
Architectural style	Federal
NRHP Reference #	66000801
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966^[1]
Designated NHL	October 9, 1960^[2]

The Brisbois House, also known as the Bernard Brisbois House, is a historic house located on St. Feriole Island in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Built circa 1840, the stone house is one of the oldest in Wisconsin. While the house was once thought to be built in 1808 by early settler Michael Brisbois, it was actually built by his son after his death. The house is a National Historic Landmark and is now owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society.^[2]

Appearance

The Brisbois House is two-and-a-half stories tall and built from locally extracted gray limestone. The front facade has five bays, with a central entrance and two pairs of windows on either side. Fluted Doric columns flank the front entrance, and molded trim forms the rest of the doorway; the lightness of these features reflects a Federal influence. A front porch, a later addition, covers the entrance with a pediment supported by columns which match the doorway. A gable roof with chimneys at either end tops the house. A wooden addition was placed on the south side of the house in 1905, replacing a platform which wrapped around that side.^[3]

History

The Brisbois House was traditionally thought to have been built in 1808 by Michael Brisbois, an early settler of Prairie du Chien and one of the city's first prominent businessmen. While Brisbois did own the plot of land the house is built on, an investigation led by the Wisconsin Historical Society in the 1950s revealed that the house was built after his 1833 death. According to the investigation, Michael's son Bernard Walter Brisbois most likely built the house for himself and his mother circa 1840. While a building of the house's style and permanence would have been uncommon in the early 1800s, it fits a pattern of more elaborate homes built for wealthy Prairie du Chien residents of the 1840s. It is one of the most well-crafted extant homes in the city which dates from before 1850, and it is one of the oldest standing stone houses in Wisconsin. The house was documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1934, purchased by the Wisconsin Historical Society circa 1955, and designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1960.^[3]

References

↑ National Park Service (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
1 2 "Brisbois House". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
1 2 Schroer, Blanche Higgins; Shedd, Jr., Charles E. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Brisbois House" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved December 29, 2014. Accompanied by photos.

External links

Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. WI-28-18, "Michael Brisbois House, Prairie du Chien, Crawford County, WI", 1 photo, 6 measured drawings, 4 data pages, supplemental material

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Topics	Architectural style categories Contributing property Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places Keeper of the Register National Park Service Property types

Lists by states	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Lists by insular areas	American Samoa Guam Minor Outlying Islands Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Virgin Islands

Lists by associated states	Federated States of Micronesia Marshall Islands Palau

Other areas	District of Columbia Morocco

Portal WikiProject

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/25/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.