The Hearthstone Historic House Museum is a historic home in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States that has been converted into a museum. On September 30, 1882, it became the first residence in the US powered by a centrally located hydroelectric station using the Edison system. At that time, the house was the residence of Henry James Rogers, a paper company executive and entrepreneur. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 2, 1974. The house was previously known as the Henry J. Rogers House. For tours and events check out Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pg/HearthstoneMuseum Summary of Significance The Henry J. and Cremora Rogers House is significant at the national level in the area of Engineering as the first house in the United States to be incandescently illuminated by a hydroelectric powered Western Edison Electric Light Company dynamo power station and an Edison Electric System. It remains a rare glimpse into the early techniques used in residential electrification. The first power station in the United States became operational twenty-six days earlier on Pearl Street in New York City, but it was powered by steam. The house is also significant at the statewide level as an exceptional example of Queen Anne style residential architecture. This house is one of the few residences in the state exhibiting an elite level of exterior design and richness of interior design and finishes. This house shares company with other exceptional Queen Anne homes in Wisconsin that have already been listed in the National Register at the statewide level of significance including the Frank Chenoweth House in Monroe, Green County; the Shearer-Cristy House in Waupaca, Waupaca County; and the Havilah Babcock House in Neenah, Winnebago County, which was also designed by architect William Waters. And finally, the house is locally significant for its association with Henry J. Rogers, an entrepreneur and visionary who not only brought electrification technology to Wisconsin but shaped the city of Appleton through his paper mills, his work bringing gas and water services to the citizens of Appleton, and his contributions to establishing an electric street railway to the city. Henry Rogers lived in the house during the time he made his contributions in manufacturing and by establishing the first hydroelectric power station to be used in residential electrification; his house being the first residence to benefit from this new source of power. Period of Significance The period of significance is 1881 through 1891. The first date is the year in which the house was built and the period of significance ends in 1891, the year in which the Rogers family sold the house. The house was electrified in 1882. The Rogers house retains an extremely high degree of integrity both on the exterior and the interior of the building. Brief History of Appleton, Wisconsin A more developed history of the city of Appleton is included in the Appleton Intensive Survey Report completed in 1992, a copy of which is available at the Historic Preservation-Public History Division of the Wisconsin Historical Society. What follows is a history of the community in the context of how it relates to this house and to Henry Rogers. Outagamie County was officially formed on February 17, 1851, with land set apart from Brown County. Outagamie County is relatively flat and in 1850 was heavily timbered with maple, elm, ash, and hickory. In 1853, the population numbered nearly 4,000 settlers who had migrated from New England and New York. Several rivers intersect the county: the Fox River to the southeast, the Wolf River to the west, and Duck Creek to the northeast. The Fox River played an important role in the development of Appleton as a manufacturing center. Prior to the formation of Outagamie County, Amos A. Lawrence made a generous donation of $10,000 to the Wisconsin Methodist Episcopal Conference in 184 7 for the building of a university. The monies were contingent upon the Methodist Church raising a matching amount.3 The fundraising efforts of the church were successful and the incorporation of "The Lawrence Institute of Wisconsin" took place on January 17, 1847. The site selected for the university was nearly in the center of the Green Bay Mission District of the Methodist Church on the Fox River between Lake Winnebago and Green Bay. The land was owned by Amos A. Lawrence. The History of Northern Wisconsin, published in 1881, stated: "It is doubtful whether there ever would have been an Appleton had there not been a University." Construction of the university began on July 3, 1859, with the building of the preparatory building. Prior to the establishment of the university, there had only been one settler who located in the area of what would become Appleton. 4 The Appleton Village Plat was laid out in 1848 by Elder Sampson, Reeder Smith, Joel S. Wright and Henry Blood. Website: https://anthonyscottdigital.com/

• published: 28 Dec 2019
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