The Herman C. Timm House is a house listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in New Holstein, Wisconsin. The house is a significant example of Stick style architecture, a rather rare predecessor of

Queen Anne style architecture in the United States Queen Anne style architecture was one of a number of popular Victorian architectural styles that emerged in the United States during the period from roughly 1880 to 1910. Popular there during this time, it followed the Second Empire and Stick s ...

.
"WISCONSIN - Calumet County"; Official

website; Retrieved January 4, 2007 The house was the home of an original settler and prominent citizen, Herman C. Timm.

Namesake

Timm came to New Holstein in 1848 from

Marne, Germany Marne is a town in the district of Dithmarschen, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated near the North Sea coast, approximately south of Heide, and northeast of Cuxhaven. Marne is the seat of the ''Amt'' ("collective municipality") Mar ...

, 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.
Dennis McCann; "Setbacks don't deter mansion supporters"; page 2; November 21, 2004 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Retrieved January 4, 2007

History

The home was built in 1873 in a

Greek revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...

style by

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

contractor August F. Neumann. It consisted of a current upstairs bedroom and first floor kitchen / dining room. 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 an 1860-1890 trend where carpentry and woodworking technology allowed for much 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. Local volunteers worked on restoring the house. The house's Grand Opening occurred on May 31, 1976, as part of the

United States Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States of America as an independent republic. It was a central event ...

celebration. The New Holstein Historical Museum featured an "Early Photos of New Holstein" exhibit as part of the celebration. The home was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. The society operated the home as a house museum.

Disasters

The house had a major roof leak that forced an end to the house tours in 1998."The Timm House Story", Market Square Days magazine, New Holstein Historical Society, June 2007 An architectural assessment was performed on the house and the cost to reconstruct the house was estimated between $116,020 and $126,220."It's been an amazing journey...", Market Square Days magazine, New Holstein Historical Society, June 2007 Before the roof was repaired, there was a broken pipe in the dining room. The break happened in January 1999. It dumped 500,000 gallons of water through the first floor and into the basement. 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.
Dennis McCann; "Setbacks don't deter mansion supporters"; November 21, 2004 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Retrieved January 4, 2007

Restoration and rededication

Only two interior photographs from 1896 exist. The New Holstein Historical Society raised $1.2 million (U.S.D.) for restoration of the Timm House. The Jeffris Foundation of Janesville, Wisconsin, gave the Society a $562,875 grant towards the restoration. Crown Services from nearby

Kiel, Wisconsin Kiel is a city in Calumet and Manitowoc counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 3,738 at the 2010 census. Of this, 3,429 residents lived in Manitowoc County, and 309 residents lived in Calumet County. The city is located p ...

, 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. The painters had to deal with

lead paint Lead paint or lead-based paint is paint containing lead. As pigment, lead(II) chromate (, "chrome yellow"), lead(II,IV) oxide, (, "red lead"), and lead(II) carbonate (, "white lead") are the most common forms.. Lead is added to paint to accele ...

, so worker had to have a lead abatement area to lessen lead poisoning. A minimal amount of damaged siding and trim was replaced to maintain the historic nature of the house. When paint was sprayed, it had to be back brushed to keep the hand-painted look. Two coats of chocolate-colored

latex paint Acrylic paint is a fast-drying paint made of pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion and plasticizers, silicone oils, defoamers, stabilizers, or metal soaps. Most acrylic paints are water-based, but become water-resistant when dry. Dep ...

were applied. The Timm house paint job was featured on the cover of ''American Painting Contractors March 2008 issue. The reconstruction of the house was completed during the summer of 2007,Mark Sherry "Timm House gets a facelift" May 18, 2006 ''Tri-County News'' in time for the city's Market Street Days festival. The house was rededicated on July 15, 2007. Congressman

Tom Petri Thomas Evert Petri (born May 28, 1940) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 1979 to 2015; he is a member of the Republican Party. Early life Petri was born in Marinette, Wisconsin. When he was a toddler, his fat ...

and state Senator

Joe Leibham Joseph K. Leibham (born June 6, 1969) is an American business executive and lobbyist who served as a Republican member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing the 9th District from 2002 to 2014. He previously served in the Wisconsin Assembly, repr ...

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.

Architecture

The house features a tower where he could relax and read newspapers. His wife Augusta sometimes slept on the porch on hot summer days beneath its copper roof. Several windows in the living room and vestibule were made from stained glass. A 600-gallon water tank was filled in the non-freezing months providing running water for bathing, cleaning and a bathroom. Another amenity that was unusual for the time period was master bedroom on the first floor. The original Quezal Art Glass Company brass chandelier remains in the

parlor A parlour (or parlor) is a reception room or public space. In medieval Christian Europe, the "outer parlour" was the room where the monks or nuns conducted business with those outside the monastery and the "inner parlour" was used for necess ...

with its iridescent shades. A lot of the other original furnishings were sold by the family or future tenants so other period pieces were used. Tiny fragments of original wallpaper were found in most rooms during reconstruction and a Swedish company hand-made custom replica wallpaper. The three upstairs bedrooms contain donated historical items like the community's first sewing machine, a bed warmer, and a trunk. The formal living room ceiling was hand painted and stenciled by Bryan Albert Painting Studio of

Wauwatosa Wauwatosa (; known informally as Tosa; originally Wau-wau-too-sa or Hart's Mill) is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 48,387 at the 2020 census. Wauwatosa is located immediately west of Milwaukee, and is a pa ...

. An Arts & Crafts-style chandelier was added to the room when electricity was installed in 1912. The room's hardwood floor was installed diagonally which was expensive at the time. An original Eastlake-style fireplace was brought out of storage during the 1974 reconstruction and two original ceramic dogs were placed on top. Next to the living room is the master bedroom which features a closet which were rare at the time since they were taxed as an additional room.

References

External links

New Holstein Historical Society
*Kahn, Eve M

A can-do historical society in rural Wisconsin cures a house museum of flood damage." ''Period Homes'', November 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Timm, Herman C., House 1873 establishments in Wisconsin Historic house museums in Wisconsin Houses completed in 1891 Houses in Calumet County, Wisconsin Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin Museums in Calumet County, Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Calumet County, Wisconsin