617 3rd St
Hudson, WI 54016, USA

Frederick L. Darling House (Darling-O'Brien House) - National Register of Historic Places

Statement of Significance:

The Frederick L. Darling House was built in 1857 typifying pure Greek Revival design. Of the ten Greek Revival dwellings in Hudson attributed to architects Ammah and Amasa Andrews, the Frederick L. Darling House possesses and integrity unrivaled as a grand and imposing representative of the style, while the others are of an unassuming scale. The modest Miles H. VanMeter House alone, being nominated within the Third Street-Vine Street Historic District, matches the architectural integrity of the Frederick L. Darling mansion.

Historical Statement
a business he continued for 20 years. He inhabited the Third Street residence until his death in 1899 and having been revered as "one of the last... pioneer merchants in (St. Croix) county" (D) and a highly esteemed gentleman, his name continues its association with the property.
Cigarmaker and insurance man Cornelius O'Brien, St. Croix County's sheriff from 1908 to 1910, gained possession of the Darling House in 1906. The dwelling remains in the O'Brien family as a rental property, owned by Cornelius O'Brien's grandson, Circuit Court Judge Thomas J. O'Brien, Jr.

The structure was built by pioneer architect Ammah Andrews and his twin brother Amasa. Bom in Litchfield, New York, July 9, 1801, the Andrews family later moved to Commerce, Michigan, where Ammah engaged in the building and contracting business. Ammah Andrews moved to the St. Croix Valley in the mid-1840's and settled permanently in what is today Hudson in 1847. He was "present during the government surveys of (St. Croix County), and was identified in a business way with... real estate and many early...enterprises". (E) Andrews served his community in several capacities, including an appointed chairmanship of the first St. Croix County Board of Commissioners in September, 1848, a position to which he was elected in November of that year, and as the second director of the school district's Board of Education in September, 1850.

Andrews' influence is primarily noted in the community's early architectural fabric. Joined by his carpenter brother Amasa in 1853, Ammah Andrews designed and constructed many public buildings and private residences. Their greatest impact, noted as having "Hellenized Hudson" (B), is seen in ten existing Greek Revival homes which were built in the temple form with full pedimented gables facing the street. The Frederick L. Darling House epitomizes pure Grecian form with its domineering pedimented portico. Andrews' craftsmanship extended into public and religious architecture as well, remembered in St. Croix County's first permanent courthouse, erected in 1857 and demolished in 1899 to make way for a new edifice (914 Third Street, NRHP-1982, Third Street-Vine Street Historic District), the Methodist Church, demolished in 1963, and still represented in the original portion of the First Baptist Church, built in 1866.

According to the memoirs of Carrie Martin Goss (1836-1936), who arrived in Hudson in 1862, the construction of the Methodist Church brought Ammah Andrews into financial disaster. Mrs. Goss notes that a severe windstorm toppled the towering spire which fell into the superstructure. The church was rebuilt, and taking a personal loss, "the calamity financially ruined Andrews". (F) Anmah Andrews died in January, 1888, eight years after his brother Amasa

Historical Significance:
Built for local lumberman Silas Staples in 1857, the house at 617 Third Street passed into the hands of dry goods merchant Frederick L. Darling in 1865. Darling occupied the residence for 34 years and in 1906, cigarmaker and insurance man Cornelius O’Brien gained possession. The mansion remains in the O’Brien family. Historical research has proven that no historically significant ties or associations can be traced to the residence.