Fontana
Built in the 1840s partly with "stovewood" construction walls, the Douglass-Stevenson House at 398 Mill St. in downtown Fontana was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in April 1986. New York-born namesake Carlos Lavalette Douglass (1827-1898) relocated to Walworth County in 1837, where made his name and forture farming and operating early flour mills in Fontana. Later a land developer and the donor of land for the community's first school, Douglass would become active in local and state politics, serving on the Walworth County Board of Supervisors and a single one-year term as a Republican legislator in the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1873. The Webster-Stevenson House today houses the Geneva Lake Conservancy, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of environmentally-sensitive lands, open space and the unique character and quality of life of Walworth County.
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The Downtown Darien Historic District, bounded by Wisconsin Street between W. Beloit and Fremont Streets, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in September 2013. Typical of many rural farming communities in Wisconsin and elsewhere, a small downtown commercial district developed after the arrival of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road)Â in 1856. Originally comprised of simple wood storefronts, disastrous downtown fires in 1909 and 1912 saw much of Darien's downtown rebuilt with multi-level business block buildings housing street level storefronts and upper level living quarters.
Added to the National Register of Historic Places in August 1993, the 1,586-resident Village of Sharon is home to the Grace and Pearl Historic District, roughly bounded by Pearl, Park, Dougall, Grace and Martin streets. Encompassing two long residential streets directly east of downtown Sharon (pictured), the residential historic district encompasses 62 contibuting historic residences, garages and carriage houses dating from 1860-1920 in a variety of architectural styles including Greek Revival, Gothic, Italianate, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Classical Revival, Prairie School, Bungalow/Craftsman, as well as some vernacular forms. Noteworthy structures in the district include the circa-1860 Manning Hoard house, the Italianate-styled circa-1875 Daniels/Pearson house, the circa-1893 Queen Anne-styled Dr. Ripley House, and the circa-1900 Dutch Colonial Revival-styled William Hoard House.Â
