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Cole Home

Watertown Daily Times, 06 12 1976

Architecture of the home at 802 North Fourth Street, remains today as it did when John Cole had the house built in the 1850's, with walls four bricks thick, 11 foot curved ceilings, its heavy nearly three inch oak front door still swinging on its original hinges. John Cole was born in Vermont in 1814, came to Watertown in 1837. He made many trips to Watertown from Milwaukee with ox teams carrying provisions. In 1854 he built a block of stores on Main and Second streets. (J. C. Penney store was in the Cole block.)

The Cole home of timber frame construction, red cedar shingles and white Wisconsin pine interior, had its carpets all woven in New York to fit the floors. Mrs. Cole, an artist, designed landscaped gardens to surround the home. Later the Coles sold this home and built another at 910 Clyman Street.

The second floor ballroom, now a five room apartment, was used for entertaining, dancing and lectures. Subsequent owners who also occupied the home after the Coles were the Joseph Salicks, the Ulrich Habheggers, the junior Ferdinand Hartwigs, Ray Franz, and for the past 30 years, Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Schultz.

Joseph Salick used to row his boat down the Rock River every morning to near his Main Street store. Mrs. Sam Luchsinger, a Salick granddaughter, relates her grandmother used to tell of the gala balls they had on the second floor. Mrs. Habhegger, when she lived there, kept a Swiss cow bell in the cherry orchards with a cord to the pantry window so she could keep the birds from the makings of cherry pies. Mrs. Hartwig was a Habhegger daughter.

The present owner, Jerome Schultz, put in hardwood floors and replaced many worn parts of outside window trim, arches and scrollwork. Mrs. Schultz pointed out vases and other outside ornamentation made of iron. These too were redone and re-secured to the house. A large center hall has a stairs with cherry handrail to the upper story. There is much elaborate ornamentation on ceilings, in both central and corner designs.

Cross-References:

No 1: Home built by Christian Schmutzler; Watertown brick used in construction