Four Milton locations named to National Register of Historic Places
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MILTON--The Wisconsin Historical Society announced Thursday it added four Milton locations to the National Register of Historic Places.
The designation provides access to certain benefits, including qualification for grants and for rehabilitation income tax credits, and it does not restrict private property owners in the use of their property.
The sites are:
-- Merchant Row Historic District, located in the area formally known as Milton Junction, which developed as a lively farmer's and agricultural business town. At one time, there were at least four tobacco warehouses, a “farmers'” bank, a Patrons of Husbandry or “Grange” Hall, and a tobacco wholesaler that developed into the region's most important wholesaler of tobacco and other products to convenience stores in the Midwest. Other businesses included a clothing store, drug store, grocery stores, and the State Bank of Milton Junction that operated from the 1880s to the 1930s.
-- Parkview Historic District, located in the area formally known as old Milton, before it merged with Milton Junction. The commercial area developed along old Main Street, which is now Parkview Drive.
The district encompasses the most architecturally intact and historically important buildings of old Milton's historic downtown, buildings that represent the growth and development of commercial activities in old Milton between 1890 and 1964.
-- Masonic Temple, constructed in 1917, housed the Milton Masonic order, one of the oldest fraternal organizations in the community. The choice of the Classical Revival style for the building's design was made to reflect strength and stability and communicate the order's standing in the community.
-- Ezra and Elizabeth Goodrich House, constructed in 1867, is a striking example of the Italianate style featuring unusual oculus windows at the cornice. Ezra Goodrich and his wife, Elizabeth, lived here at the height of Ezra's involvement in community affairs; activities that shaped the appearance and character of the community. His influence in local public policy and design influenced how Milton looks to this day.
The register is the official national list of historic properties in America deemed worthy of preservation and is maintained by the National Park Service in the U.S. Department of the Interior. The Wisconsin Historical Society administers the program within Wisconsin. It includes sites, buildings, structures, objects and districts that are significant in national, state or local history, architecture, archaeology, engineering or culture.