422 N Henry St
Madison, WI, USA

Judge Arthur B. Braley House

The Judge Arthur B. Braley House is a Gothic Revival-style house built in 1875 in Madison, Wisconsin by a long-respected jurist, writer and a supporter of other writers, including Ella Wheeler Wilcox. In 1980 the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places.


History

Arthur Braley was a New Yorker who came to Wisconsin and was admitted to the local bar in 1848, the year Wisconsin became a state. In 1856 he became the city's first Police Justice, and he held that and other civil justice positions until he was elected the first judge of Dane County's municipal court in 1874. He served in that post until he died in 1889. He was well-regarded - consistently re-elected and reappointed through his career. When he died, the Wisconsin Daily Democrat observed that "of the scores of cases sent from his court to the Supreme Court, not one has ever been reversed or remanded."

In 1875, just after being elected judge, Braley and his wife Philinda had the main section of this fine house built on Henry Street, five blocks west of the capitol. It stands 2.5 stories, with a wood frame and cream brick veneer. Its style is basically Gothic Revival, seen in the vertical massing (steep roof and tall windows), the carpenter's lace in the gable ends of the dormers, and the corbelled chimneys. The porches may have been added or redone around the turn of the century, since they are decorated with Gothic details like what Claude and Starck designed for other buildings at that time. The garage and studio wing was added in the 1940s, designed by Madison architect Frank M. Riley.

Judge Braley was also a writer and supporter of other writers. He served as editor of the Wisconsin Daily Patriot during the Presidential campaign of 1864 and as political editor of the Madison Daily Democrat during the 1868 Presidential election. Over the years he wrote essays, stories, political analyses, and reviews of Shakespeare "for various newspapers through the West." The Braleys' close friend Ella Wheeler Wilcox was a frequent visitor. During one of those visits, Wilcox wrote the opening line of her most enduring poem "Solitude":

Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone.

Judge Braley reportedly told her that if she finished the poem at the same high standard, it would be a 'literary gem.' Wilcox had been a friend of Braley from childhood and at his death she stated, "it was from his well-filled library that I gained my first knowledge of books. His editorial pen gave some of my earliest local literary efforts encouragement." After Judge Braley's death, Philinda introduced Zona Gale to Wilcox at this house. The Braleys' own son, Berton Braley became a poet and editor.

The house was designated a landmark by the Madison Landmarks Commission in 1976[3] and added to the NRHP in 1980 "as a tangible reminder of the Honorable Judge Arthur B. Braley, whose role in the political scene in Madison was one of influence in both local and state political thought, and in the literary arts, was one of encouragement of artful expression and its appreciation."

National Register of Historic Places - Judge Arthur B. Braley House

Statement of Significance:

The significance of the house at 422 North Henry Street, built by Judge Arthur Briggs Braley in 1877-1878, is based primarily upon its association with the respected justice, writer and Shakespearean scholar and to a lesser extent with Braley f s friend, poetess Ella Wheeler (whose married name in 1884 became Ella Wheeler Wilcox). The home hosted activities in the practice and encouragement of literary endeavors whose audience extended beyond the Madison community.

Association with a significant person
As a public servant, Braley maintained the respect of the voting public as indicated by his twenty-seven years in public office. Braley's impressive record in serving the public began with his service as Madison T s first Police Justice upon the organization of the capital city in 1856, having been admitted to the local bar just eight years previous. He held the position for three successive terms of two years each. In 1864, he was chosen Alderman of the First Ward, in which capacity he served for three years. The spring of 1868 saw him elected City Attorney, a position he held for one year. In 1872, he was again elected Police Justice, without opposition. On March 14 9 1873, the State legislature established the Municipal Court for the City of Madison and the County of Dane with its corresponding judgeship to which office Braley was elected in the spring of 1874, again without opposition, for a six-year term. In 1875, the jurisdiction of the court was greatly enlarged in criminal matters and made concurrent with that of the circuit court in all crimes except murder. To that more powerful position, he was re-elected in 1880 and 1886, during which term he was claimed by death on January 31, 1889.

As a justice, Braley was regarded as impartial and fair and was beheld with great respect, this was best evidenced in March, 1874 by "a call from the electors," a petition signed by over five hundred prominent Dane County citizens, "without distinction of party," including the Dane County bar, requesting Braley to accept the candidacy for the newly created Municipal Judgeship. The petition and Braley's acceptance letter were published almost a month before the elections, far in advance of the then routine schedule for the selection of nominations for elected posts. Upon Braley's death, the editors of the Wisconsin Daily Democrat recounted upon his abilities as a justice: "of the scores of cases. Sent from his court to the Supreme Court, not one has ever been reversed or remanded."