News: Neillsville - Tufts House (National Register - 2012)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Tufts

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 2/08/2012

Tufts House in Neillsville National Register (Historic Places - 2012)

William B. and Jennie Tufts House in Neillsville Listed in National Register of Historic Places

The Wisconsin Historical Society has announced the listing of the William B. and Jennie Tufts House in Neillsville in the National Register of Historic Places. National Register designation provides access to certain benefits, including qualification for grants and for rehabilitation income tax credits, while it does not restrict private property owners in the use of their property.

The 1934 William B. and Jennie Tufts House is an excellent example of the popularity and spread of the Spanish Revival styles in the 1920s and 1930s and is the finest example of the style found in Neillsville. It is unknown how the Tufts were influenced to select this style for their new house.

While widely adapted in the West, Southwest and Florida, examples of the style are relatively rare in Wisconsin. In addition to the house, the larger Tufts property reflected the influence of the style, displaying an arcaded shed and now no longer extant decorative fountain and rounded arch rear gate. Elements of Spanish design are carried through to the interior, displaying twist columns and decorative iron work.

The register is the official national list of historic properties in America deemed worthy of preservation and is maintained by the National Park Service in the U. S. Department of the Interior. The Wisconsin Historical Society administers the program within Wisconsin. It includes sites, buildings, structures, objects and districts that are significant in national, state or local history, architecture, archaeology, engineering or culture.

To learn more about the state and national register programs in Wisconsin, visit www.wisconsinhistory.org/hp.