Title: Winifred Ford Watercolors
Inclusive Dates: 1938-1939

Creator:

• Ford, Winifred

Call Number: PH 1669 (5)

Quantity: 43 watercolors (1 flat box)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Watercolors, 1938-1939, by Winifred Ford of historic 19th century mansions and other buildings in Madison, Wisconsin. The watercolors are each approximately 19 x 24-inches, originally matted 27 x 31.5-inches, and are accompanied by typescript notes on each house. Included are: City Hall; notable residences, especially those owned by prominent people; and several University of Wisconsin buildings.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: https://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-ph01669

Winifred Bonnewitz (1876-1957) was born in Van Wert, Ohio, and as a young woman acted on Broadway for a while. She married Marcus C. Ford (1873-1941) in about 1904. The couple lived for 25 years in Kansas City and in 1933 moved to Madison, where Marcus had spent his childhood. He graduated in 1897 from the University of Wisconsin with a law degree, but chose instead to live out his love of the theater as an actor, dramatic director, playwright, and producer — especially for Haresfoot (the UW men's dramatic club).

From 1935-1937, Marcus was state supervisor of drama and public speaking for the Federal Emergency Education Program under the Wisconsin WPA. After her husband died in 1941, Winifred worked as an artist and draftswoman in the engineering department of Gisholt Machine Company, then spent the last few years of her life in Atlantic City, New Jersey (where her son, Marcus Jr., worked in the entertainment industry). The Fords resided mainly at 10 East Gorham Street. Winifred later lived at 1023 Spaight Street. Both husband and wife are buried in Madison's Forest Hill Cemetery.

This collection has been digitized and is available online: Image Gallery.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Mrs. L.M. Hanks and Mrs. Hobart Johnson; presented by Joseph E. Davies in 1941 and Mrs. Annie Main Roach, 1950.

PH 1669 (5)	Levi B. Vilas House, 521 North Henry Street, corner of Langdon Note: Levi B. Vilas built this house in 1853. The porch and steps were remodeled by Arthur O. Fox, brother of Mrs. William F. Vilas, who purchased it from the Vilas family in 1894.
Item   1	Before porch remodel Note: WHi Image ID: 29725.
Item   15	After porch remodel Note: WHi Image ID: 29739.
Item   2	William F. Vilas House, 12 East Gilman Street, corner of Wisconsin Avenue Note House built by Julius T. Clark in 1859, which in 1878 became the home of William F. Vilas. WHi Image ID: 29726.
Item   3	James McBride House, 200 Farwell Drive, Maple Bluff Note The house built by James McBride. The house was later owned by Halle Steensland, Samuel H. Marshall, and Robert M. La Follette. WHi Image ID: 29727.
Item   4	Jairus C. Fairchild House, 302 Monona Avenue Note Jairus Cassius Fairchild, the first mayor of Madison, built this house in 1850 at 302 South Wisconsin Avenue (renamed Monona Avenue in 1877) at West Wilson St. near Lake Monona. The house was later substantially altered with additions. After the Civil War, the house became the home of Fairchild's son, Lucius, Civil War hero, Wisconsin governor (1866-1872) and foreign diplomat. During his six years as governor, the Fairchild House was the state's executive residence, as no such property was then owned by the state. The residence was therefore a focus of Madison's social life during the last half of the 19th century. WHi Image ID: 29728.
Item   5	Elmside, 302 South Mills Street Note Elmside was built by Peter Van Bergen, a prominent builder of the 1840s. The house was later owned by Dr. J.B. Bowen. WHi Image ID: 29729.
Item   6	Executive Mansion, 130 East Gilman Street Note This Italianate sandstone house was built in 1856 by Julius T. White. The house was later owned by J.G. Thorp, whose daughter married Ole Bull, the famous Norwegian violinist. The state of Wisconsin acquired the house in 1885 as a home for its governors. The University of Wisconsin purchased the property in 1950 for about $60,000 and it became known as the Knapp House (after Kemper K. Knapp). It is currently used as the residence for the Marie Christine Kohler fellows. It was declared a Historic Landmark in 1972. WHi Image ID: 29730.
Item   7	Ella Giles House, 451 West Wilson Street Note House built by A.A. Bird around 1838. WHi Image ID: 29731.
Item   8	Reverend F.F. Ford House, 1023 Spaight Street Note House built by Mr. Harris prior to 1875, when it was purchased by Storer. Winifred Ford, widow of Marcus Ford, lived here. WHi Image ID: 29732.
Item   9	George Storer House, 104 East Gilman Street Note House built in 1855 by John E. Kendall. WHi Image ID: 29733.
Item   10	Judge James C. Hopkins House, 134 West Wilson Street Note House built in 1850. WHi Image ID: 29734.
Item   11	Morris E. Fuller House, 423 North Pickney Street Note House built by Napolean B. Van Slyke about 1865. The house was later owned by Fuller and Robert M. Bashford. WHi Image ID: 29735.
Item   12	George Keenan / John H. Knight House, 28 East Gilman Street Note House built by Napoleon B. Van Slyke in 1858. It was later owned by Knight, then by Dr. George Keenan. WHi Image ID: 29736.
	Garnhart House, 424 North Pickney Street Note: House built by Samuel H. Donnell in 1857-1858. Donnell was one of the architects for the former Capitol, and the house is built of the same stone as used in the Capitol. Later owned by J.H. Garnhart, then about 1887 by Mrs. Sarah Conover, and later by Mrs. Caroline Pierce, who maintained it as a rooming house. It is now a Madison city landmark and a bed and breakfast (Mansion Hill Inn). The iron fence was originally placed on a stone coping.
Item   13	Front view Note: WHi Image ID: 29737.
Item   14	Side View Note: WHi Image ID: 29738.
Item   16	Stoner House, 321 South Hamilton Street Note: WHi Image ID: 29740.
Item   17	Neckerman House, 208-212 Monona Avenue Note The Neckerman house, located at 208-212 (210-214?) Monona Avenue, (now Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard), built by General David Atwood and his partner Royal Buck as a double house in the late 1840s. It was extensively remodeled and made larger. WHi Image ID: 29741.
Item   18	Benjamin Franklin Hopkins House, 142 East Gilman Street Note House built by Hopkins about 1850. The house was later owned by Dr. William Jacobs. The square bay side of the first floor and the rear wings were added during the occupancy of Carl A. Johnson after Jacobs. Then it became Raiffeisen House, CUNA's office building. WHi Image ID: 29742.
Item   19	Marston House, 524 North Henry Street Note Built in 1851 in the Greek revival style for Jeremiah T. Marston, who operated a store on State Street. The Marstons built a new house in the early 1870s near Lake Wingra. The house on Henry Street was the last residence of Chief Justice Edward G. Ryan, who died in 1880, and was then occupied by A.B. Van Cott. From 1909 to 1923, the house was used by the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. DKE raised the roof, added dormer windows, and glassed in the upper porch. From 1925 to around 1942 and again from 1946 it was used by the Alpha Chi Rho fraternity, until its demolition in 1962. WHi Image ID: 29743.
Item   20	Simeon Mills House, 222 Monona Avenue Note House built in the early 1840s by Mills. WHi Image ID: 29744.
Item   21	Leitch House, 752 East Gorham Street Note: WHi Image ID: 29745.
Item   22	John A. Johnson House, 316 Wisconsin Avenue Note House probably built by John Gripper, who lived there in 1868. The house was purchased by Johnson about 1882-1883 and demolished in 1940. WHi Image ID: 29746.
Item   23	Lansing Hoyt House, 221 Monona Avenue Note House built in 1873 by Hoyt. WHi Image ID: 29747.
Item   24	Livesey House, 719 East Gorham Street Note: WHi Image ID: 29748.
Item   25	David Atwood House, 204 Monona Avenue, on the corner of Doty Street Note: WHi Image ID: 29749.
Item   26	Andrew Proudfit House, 113 West Washington Avenue Note: WHi Image ID: 29750.
Item   27	Napoleon B. Van Slyke House, 510 North Carroll Street Note The house was built for Van Slyke by A. Kutzbock about 1868. WHi Image ID: 29751.
Item   28	The Evergreens / Hawley House Note Hawley house, also called “The Evergreens,” located on Route 4 (junction of Oregon Road and County Trunk D), was built by Holden Snell in 1853. It was owned by George M. Oakley in 1882. His daughter, Mrs. John C. Hawley, also live there. WHi Image ID: 29752.
Item   29	Lucien Stanley Hanks House, 216 Langdon Street Note Built in 1877. WHi Image ID: 29753.
Item   30	Governor C.C. Washburn House Note The Governor C.C. Washburn house was built in the 1850s and purchased by Samuel H. Marshall before completion, then by Mr. Ashmead of Philadelphia. Washburn purchased it in 1876 and later bequeathed it to the Sisters of the Sacred Heart. It was the original Edgewood Academy. The house was demolished by fire. WHi Image ID: 29754.
Item   31	City Hall, 2 West Mifflin Street Note Built from 1856-1858. The architect was August Kutzbock. WHi Image ID: 29756.
	University of Wisconsin-Madison
Item   32	Bascom Hall Note Bascom Hall (formerly Main Hall) on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, as it looked in 1859 when built. WHi Image ID: 29757.
Item   33	Law Building Note Designed by Charles S. Frost and built in 1893 of Lake Superior brown sandstone. WHi Image ID: 29760.
Item   34	Music Hall Note Designed by John F. Rague and built in 1851 as the first building on campus. WHi Image ID: 29762.
Item   35-36	South Hall Note Designed by John F. Rague and built in 1855 as the second University building. It was used initially for general college purposes and as a dormitory for faculty, in 1863 as a women's dorm, in 1871 as a men's dorm, and then (from circa 1887) used by the College of Agriculture. Today South Hall houses offices. Item 35 WHi Image ID: 29762. Item 36 WHi Image ID: 30333.
Item   37	Simeon Mills House, 2709 Sommers Avenue Note: WHi Image ID: 29765.
Item   38	Willett S. Main House, 511 North Carroll Note Built in 1858. WHi Image ID: 29803.
Item   39	Oscar D. Brandenburg House, 22 Langdon Street Note Later the Theta Delta Chi fraternity house. Razed and replaced in 1972 by the Langdon Apartments. Oscar Brandenburg was born in Ohio in 1858 and moved to Baraboo, Wisconsin, at the age of 6. He moved to Madison in 1879 when he became a student at the University of Wisconsin, where he was a member of Psi Upsilon fraternity, captain of the baseball team, and editor of The University Press. After graduation he became city editor of The State Journal, then managing editor until 1890, when he bought an interest in the Democrat Printing Company. He was editor and vice president of that company until his retirement, when he became president; he held that position until his death in 1930. In 1886 he married Arabelle Sarles; they had one son, Frederick S., and a daughter, Catherine (Mrs. N. D. Bassett). WHi Image ID: 29805.
Item   40	Benjamin Walker Castle, 900 block of East Gorham Street Note The sandstone house known as Walker's Castle was located in the 900 block of East Gorham Street. According to newspaper articles, it was built in about 1861 by an Englishman named Benjamin Walker, who moved to Madison with his wife and three children. After they moved back to England in about 1863, the property was sold to William Thompson, who resided there for several years with his family. After being vacant for many years, ownership passed to Timothy Brown, a prominent businessman. Sometime after he died in 1879, his son Frank demolished the castle and used the stone to construct the home of J.L. Tormey at 137 E. Gorham Street and part of the building at Carroll and Langdon streets. By 1930 a house was built on the lot by Dr. Arthur Sullivan (930 E. Gorham). Since about 1940 the site has been occupied by the Christ Presbyterian Church. WHi Image ID: 29806.
Item   41	Bashford house, 423 North Pinckney Avenue Note: WHi Image ID: 29808.
Item   42	Newell Dodge House, 1127 West Johnson Street Note Home of Newell Dodge (1845-1934), a Madison alderman from 5th ward, attorney, and fuel dealer. WHi Image ID: 29809.
Item   43	Magnus Swenson House, 530 North Pickney Street Note This is not the house most strongly connected with Swenson, called Thorstrand, which still exists. According to the donor, the house in this painting was sold to a fraternity or sorority, fell into disrepair, and was later demolished. WHi Image ID: 97085.