Built 1840 Designated NHL October 9, 1960 Architectural style Federal architecture | NRHP Reference # 66000801 Opened 1840 Added to NRHP 15 October 1966 | |
 | ||
Location Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin Similar Dousman Hotel, Astor Fur Warehouse, St Feriole Island Park, Villa Louis, Fort Crawford | ||
Christmas at the brisbois house
The Brisbois House, also known as the Bernard Brisbois House, is a historic house located on St. Feriole Island in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Built circa 1840, the stone house is one of the oldest in Wisconsin. While the house was once thought to be built in 1808 by early settler Michael Brisbois, it was actually built by his son after his death. The house is a National Historic Landmark and is now owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society.
Contents
Appearance
The Brisbois House is two-and-a-half stories tall and built from locally extracted gray limestone. The front facade has five bays, with a central entrance and two pairs of windows on either side. Fluted Doric columns flank the front entrance, and molded trim forms the rest of the doorway; the lightness of these features reflects a Federal influence. A front porch, a later addition, covers the entrance with a pediment supported by columns which match the doorway. A gable roof with chimneys at either end tops the house. A wooden addition was placed on the south side of the house in 1905, replacing a platform which wrapped around that side.
History
The Brisbois House was traditionally thought to have been built in 1808 by Michael Brisbois, an early settler of Prairie du Chien and one of the city's first prominent businessmen. While Brisbois did own the plot of land the house is built on, an investigation led by the Wisconsin Historical Society in the 1950s revealed that the house was built after his 1833 death. According to the investigation, Michael's son Bernard Walter Brisbois most likely built the house for himself and his mother circa 1840. While a building of the house's style and permanence would have been uncommon in the early 1800s, it fits a pattern of more elaborate homes built for wealthy Prairie du Chien residents of the 1840s. It is one of the most well-crafted extant homes in the city which dates from before 1850, and it is one of the oldest standing stone houses in Wisconsin. The house was documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1934, purchased by the Wisconsin Historical Society circa 1955, and designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1960.