The Library Park Historic District is a historic neighborhood in

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Wisconsin, fourth-most populous city in Wisconsin, with a population of 99,986 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. S ...

, United States, surrounding Library Park, which was originally conceived as a New England–style town commons. The district consists of 42

contributing properties In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distr ...

built from 1843 to 1930. The district was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1988.

History

Kenosha, Wisconsin, was first settled in 1835.

Charles Durkee Charles H. Durkee (December 10, 1805January 14, 1870) was an American politician, activist, and Wisconsin pioneer. He represented Wisconsin as a United States senator from 1855 to 1861, and served two terms in the U.S. House of Representati ...

and George Kimball were two of the earliest settlers and laid claim to neighboring tracts of land. Durkee and Kimball agreed to donate a portion of their lands to Kenosha for a city park. The park attracted other settlers; by the mid-1840s, Volney French and Lucien Scribner had constructed their homes overlooking the park. By 1861, the lots surrounding the park were almost completely occupied. Many of these houses were demolished for the sake of redevelopment in subsequent decades, but the French and Scribner houses survived. With During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, the neighborhood became active as a stop on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

at the behest of Ruben H. Deming. Located at 1116-18 61st, Kenosha WI, both the Hale–Farr and the Reuben H. Deming house have survived as examples of homes used for the slave escape network. Slaves would stay at the houses until they could board ships at the Kenosha harbor. Christ The King Church Kenosha

Two prominent ecclesiastical buildings were constructed in the 1870s: the First Congregational Church in 1874 and St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in 1879. The Queen Anne style dominated 1890s development. Examples include the Nathan R. Allen, Jr. House and the Urban J. Lewis House. The Gilbert M. Simmons Memorial Library, designed by

Daniel Burnham Daniel Hudson Burnham (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the ''Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts'' movement, he may have been "the most successful power broker the American archi ...

, opened to the public in 1900. It was built in the center of City Park, which was subsequently referred to as Library Park. Kenosha grew steadily in the 1900s, forcing new developments in the neighborhood to be built on smaller lots, including the gabled ell Charles Stuart House (1907) and

Craftsman Craftsman may refer to: A profession *Artisan, a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative *Master craftsman, an artisan who has achieved such a standard that he may establish his own workshop and take o ...

C. Ernest Dewey House (1910).

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

was born in an 1880 house at 6116 Seventh Avenue on May 6, 1915. The Neoclassical design of the library inspired the design of other public and club buildings in the district, including the Masonic Temple (1924) and the YMCA building (1930). The district saw little development since

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. On November 29, 1988, the district was recognized by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

with a listing on the

References

{{commons category, Library Park Historic District (Kenosha, Wisconsin) Geography of Kenosha County, Wisconsin Underground Railroad locations Gothic Revival architecture in Wisconsin Italianate architecture in Wisconsin Neoclassical architecture in Wisconsin Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Kenosha County, Wisconsin