221 Washington St
Eau Claire, WI, USA

Martin Van Buren Barron House

The Martin Van Buren Barron House is located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.


History

Martin Van Buren Barron was a prominent businessman and local politician. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and on the State Register of Historic Places in 1989.

National Register of Historic Places - Martin Van Buren Barron House

Statement of Significance:

The Martin Van Buren Barron house, a picturesque creation featuring steeply pitched gables outlined by emphatic curvilinear bargeboards, is the best local example of Late Carpenter's Gothic architecture. Constructed by Eau Claire builders, Baygs and Fish in 1871, the residence is one of the few remnants of Eau Claire's early decades. It was designated an Eau Claire Landmark in 1980.

The building firm of Bangs and Fish was established in Eau Claire in 1867. The partnership operated a sash, door, and blind factory that supplied these articles and other woodwork for many of the city's buildings. In the case of the Barron house, Bangs and Fish did the actual construction.

HISTORICAL STATEMENT:

The home's original owner, Martin Van Buren Barron, was born in New Hampshire in 1834 and settled in Eau Claire in 1865. Initially, Barron, in partnership with his brother, operated a flour and feed store. Abandoning this endeavor in favor of lumbering, he and another brother built a mill on the Chippewa River. In the next years he became associated with several lumber enterprises, including rafting and selling lumber for the Eau Claire Lumber Company and logging for himself and in partnership with Peter Truax. From 1878 until his death in 1891 Barron was employed by the Rust-Owen Lumber Company and engaged in “buying lumber and logs At Boyd, Cadott, Bloomer, Chetek, Barron, Cameron and various other points on the Omaha and Wisconsin Central lines"