An unclear future. The historic Martin Field House as seen from the Mukwonago Red Brick Museum grounds.

Mukwonago Historical Society takes on big project with Martin Field House

Funding stands in way of moving house to Red Brick Museum site.

The property where the home and barn of Martin Field sits, at the corner of Main Street and Atkinson Avenue, was purchased by Mount Olive Church about seven years ago. Church officials, however, are considering tearing the house down this spring since it has become a financial burden to maintain. But members of the Mukwonago Historical Society would like to find a way to save the structure by moving it to a museum.

Village of Mukwonago — If the Mukwonago Historical Society has its way, the original portion of the Martin Field House would be used as an extension of the Red Brick Museum. That is, if approvals by the village plan commission, and any other agencies involved in moving the structure, are met.

The biggest stumbling block, however, is funding.

On April 21, the village board gave the historical society approval to move forward with a project that would take the original portion of the house, currently owned by Mount Olive Church, remove the second floor and move it across the street, contingent on gaining all necessary approvals.

With a projected cost of $60,000 to $75,000, funding the project is a big issue. Any additional costs to the museum budget, if the building is moved, have not been determined yet.

"Funding is the key thing, and it is considerable," Village President Fred Winchowky said. "It's unfortunate that it's coming in at the eleventh hour. I think there is a lot to be done here."

Proposed plan
In an article in Living Chief Sunday last November, Cindy Dobberke, Mount Olive's church council president at the time, said the church could no longer bear the financial burden of keeping up the aging building and planned to take the house down to convert the area to green space this year.

According to information presented to the public works committee on April 13, the historical society would like to move the structure to the area behind the Trading Post next to the Red Brick Museum, 130 Main St., by this summer or fall, provided Mount Olive allows the time needed.

Once the building was moved, made weather-worthy, and brought up to the appropriate codes, Henry Hecker, of the Mukwonago Historical Society, said the plan is to use the building for storage and eventually outfit it as an example of an early 1840s cabin.

The 141/2 by 18-foot section of the house has no plumbing and none would be added. Electricity would be installed using electric baseboards for heating.

Historical value
The historical society points to the prominence of Martin Field in the village, Waukesha County and state. Since it is too expensive to move the entire building, moving the original portion would preserve an important part of village history, the society says.

With homes of two of the three earliest settlers to Mukwonago still standing in the village, losing the Field house would take out "the completing piece of Mukwonago's earliest history," according to the historical society presentation.

After securing land when he came to Mukwonago in 1836, Field walked with Ira Blood to Chicago where they platted the city. There they met Sewell Andrews who was on his way back to Mukwonago and the three traveled together. According to the historical society, Blood's cabin is located where the Masonic Center now stands on Highway NN. Andrews built his red brick house across the street from Field.

"There is educational value, not only for the youth but for other people who make Mukwonago a destination," Hecker said. "We get people not from the area at the museum quite regularly. It would be a tribute to the original founders and would increase the assets for the museum."

SOURCE:
Article author: Carol Spaeth-Bauer, Mukwonago Chief,
April 27,2015

www.lakecountrynow.com/news/mukwonagochief/moving-history...

Taken on: June 9, 2015

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