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Herman C. Timm House
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During 2006 reconstruction
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| Location: | 1600 Main St New Holstein, Wisconsin |
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| Built: | 1872 |
| Architect: | Neuman, August F. |
| Architectural style: | Greek Revival, Stick/Eastlake |
| Governing body: | Private |
| NRHP Reference#: |
96000727 [1] |
| Added to NRHP: | July 05, 1996 |
The Herman C. Timm House is a house listed on the National Register of Historic Places in New Holstein, Wisconsin. The house is a significant example of Queen Anne Style architecture called stick style architecture. [2] The house was the home of an original settler and prominent citizen, Herman C. Timm.
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Timm came to New Holstein in 1848 from Marne, Germany at age 14. He made his money operating a feed mill called Calumet Feeds at the north end of the block the house is on. He started a bank, and was the first president of the village. [3]
The home was built in 1873 in a Greek revival style by Kiel contractor August F. Neumann.[4] The original home became the rear of the home during an addition in 1891. The addition was done in what was later called "stick style" architecture. The stick style was a 1860-1890 trend where carpentry and woodworking technology allowed for lots of trim detail. Timm’s unmarried children took over the home after his death. They turned the upstairs into a rental unit, and in 1954 upstairs and downstairs were both rented out. The home was donated by H. C. Timm II to the New Holstein Historic Society in 1974.[4]
Local volunteers worked on restoring the house. The house's Grand Opening occurred on May 31, 1976 as part of the United States Bicentennial celebration.The New Holstein Historical Museum featured an "Early Photos of New Holstein" exhibit as part of the celebration.[5] The home was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. [2] The society operated the home as a house museum.
The house had a major roof leak that forced an end to the house tours in 1998.[6] An architectural assessment was performed on the house, and the cost to reconstruct the house was estimated between $116,020 and $126,220.[7] Before the roof was repaired, there was a broken pipe in the dining room. The break happened in January 1999.[7] It dumped 500,000 gallons of water through the first floor and into the basement.[7] The rising basement waters extinguished the furnace, causing the water in the pipes and the radiators to freeze, then burst. City water meters knew there was a problem somewhere in the city, but no one could find the source of the leak. A volunteer at the house discovered the leak. The volunteer arranged for a heating repairman to stop the flooding. When the repairman left, he slammed the door closed. The door frame was so swollen that the volunteer was stuck inside. She had to go upstairs and call for help through a front window. [8]
Only two interior photographs from 1896 exist.[6] The New Holstein Historical Society raised $1.2 million dollars (U.S.D.) for restoration of the Timm House. [9] The Jeffris Foundation of Janesville, Wisconsin gave the Society a $562,875 grant towards the restoration. [3]
Crown Services from nearby Kiel, Wisconsin painted the house. It had to start painting in 2007 because winter temperatures came early in 2006. It finished the job by the July 2007 opening. The company nominated the paint job for a national paint award by Zinsser Company, and it was awarded $10,000 and its "Top Job" winner for 2007.[10] The painters had to deal with lead paint, so worker had to have a lead abatement area to lessen lead poisoning.[10] A minimal amount of damaged siding an trim was replaced to maintain the historic nature of the house.[10] When paint was sprayed, it had to be back brushed to keep the hand-painted look.[10] Two coats of latex paint were applied. The Timm house paint job was featured on the cover of American Painting Contractor's March 2008 issue.[10]
The reconstruction of the house was completed during the summer of 2007,[11] in time for the city's Market Street Days festival. The house was rededicated on July 15, 2007. Congressman Tom Petri and state Senator Joe Leibham spoke at the rededication. The registered historic place plaque was displayed. An information sign was unveiled that is easily visible as motorists turn a corner on Highway 57 / 32. People were able to take tours of the house for the first time in nearly ten years, and the first group to tour included Petri.
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