Banner Journal (Black River Falls, Jackson Co., WI.)

April 4, 2007, Page 7

Transcribed by: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon

Carnegie building nominated as historical site

By Pat McKnight

The Jackson County Historical Society’s Carnegie Museum could make history if the application to register the society’s building as a state historic site is approved.

If the Wisconsin Historical Society approves the nomination of the former library located on Main Street in Black River Falls, it will be the fourth site in Jackson County listed on the Wisconsin State Register of Historic Places.

The building served as the city’s public library since 1915 until the city built a new library in March 1995.  The building is now the Jackson County Historical Society Museum.

The other three county historic sites listed on the register are the Union High School on North Fourth Street, Black River Falls, Silver Mound Archeological District in the Town of Hixton and Gullickson’s Glen in the Town of Irving.

The application for listing the former Black River Falls Public Library as an historical site was initiated by Cortney Cain as a result of a class project.  She began the process in 2004 when she was a Landscape Architecture graduate student at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Cain decided to nominate the former library building because her research found there were only three sites in Jackson County listed as historic sites, and only one of those sites was a building. She wanted future generations to be able to appreciate and enjoy the building.

“I hope to inspire other communities in Jackson County to appreciate and place value on historic properties and consider nominating local buildings, structures and landscapes to the National Register,” said Cain via e-mail to the Banner Journal.

Cain is currently working in Seattle, WA, as a historical landscape architect for the National Park Service in the Pacific West Regional Office.

The historic significance of the Carnegie building is that it was one of the first libraries in the state and was part of the Carnegie Library movement.  Its architectural style is also significant because it is an example of the Prairie design developed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

The Wisconsin Historical Society Review Board will consider the nomination of the Carnegie building April 27 at its offices located at 816 State Street, Madison.

Museum nominated as a historical site

The Carnegie building, which houses the Jackson County Historical Society museum, has been nominated to be listed on the Wisconsin State Register of Historic Places.  The Wisconsin Historical Society Review Board will consider the nomination of the building during its review meeting April 27 at its offices in Madison. The site was nominated by Cortney Cain, formerly of Hixton. Cain began the application process when she was a landscape architecture student at Madison. (Photo Pat McKnight/Banner Journal)