120 Ferry St
Eau Claire, WI, USA

Levi Merrill House

The Levi Merrill House is located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.


History

Levi Merrill was a stonemason who owned the Mount Washington stone quarry, up the bluff behind the house. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 and on the State Register of Historic Places in 1989.

National Register of Historic Places - Levi Merrill House

Statement of Significance:

Located in Shawtown, a section of Eau Claire which during the lumber era was dominated by the presence of the Daniel Shaw Lumber Company, the Levi Merrill house is a unique and significant addition to the city's inventory of residential architecture. The dwelling, essentially a simple vernacular structure, combines both Classical and Gothic elements in an unusual and strikingly picturesque composition.

Historical Statement:
Levi Merrill, the original owner of this residence, was a noted stone mason who had his quarry at Mt. Washington which is located just west of the home. Merrill was living in Eau Claire as early as 1867 for he cut the stone pedestal for a sundial that was erected on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Water Street in that year. A 1927 newspaper article recalling the construction of the sundial noted that "Mr. Merrill was a fine stone cutter" (B).

The city directories, which for the city Eau Claire begin in 1880, recorded Merrill as a stone mason (1880), a mason for the Daniel Shaw Lumber Company (1894), and the sexton at take View cemetery (1896). In 1898 his widow, Mercy Merrill, was listed at the address (C).