L. D. Fargo Public Library
The L. D. Fargo Public Library is a historic public library at 120 E. Madison Street in Lake Mills, Wisconsin.
L. D. Fargo Public Library | |
 L. D. Fargo Public Library | |
| Location | 120 E. Madison St., Lake Mills, Wisconsin |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 43°04′51″N 88°54′38″W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1899-1902 |
| Architect | Ferry & Clas/L.A. Giles |
| Architectural style | Late Gothic Revival/Storybook |
| NRHP reference No. | 82000675[1] |
| Added to NRHP | January 18, 1982 |
History
Businessman Lorenzo Dow Fargo donated funds for the library to Lake Mills in 1899; the building was completed in 1902. Prolific Milwaukee architects George Ferry and Alfred Clas, who also designed several other Wisconsin libraries, designed the library; Ferry went on to serve on the library's board. The library's design incorporates elements of Gothic Revival and Tudor Revival architecture. The two-story building has a rough fieldstone exterior, a projecting entrance block with a bargeboard roof above the entrance, four steep dormers with matching bargeboard on the front facade, and a steeple atop the gable roof. When it opened, the library became a local community center as well, and both the local women's club and the city's branch of the Women's Christian Temperance Union used it as their headquarters.[2]
The library was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and on the State Register of Historic Places in 1989.[3] It is still in use as the city's public library.
References
- "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
- Garfield, Leonard T. (November 1981). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Fargo, L. D., Public Library". National Archives Catalog. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
- "120 E. Madison St". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2018-05-29.