Coole Park Manor

Coole Park Manor is nominated to the National Register of Historic Places for its local significance under Criterion C: Architecture. The property physically embodies the idyllic leisure lifestyle consciously created by the mid-western upper class as their chosen retreat residences. The Hull House was designed by the prominent mid-western architectural firm, Wilder and Wight. The period of significance began in 1913 with the construction of the main house and its supporting outbuildings and ended in 1920 with the planning and planting of the formal gardens which completed the grounds.

Historical Background of Region

The Chequamegon region which includes Madeline Island and the Town of La Pointe has a rich history. In its earliest days, Madeline Island was the cradle of the Ojibway (Chippewa) Nation. The Ojibway left the Gulf of St. Lawrence and arrived at the Chequamegon Region around 1490 and lived there for approximately 120 years. At its peak, the Ojibway population is thought to have run as high as twenty thousand. The island was not capable of supporting such a large population and eventually, the Ojibway left the area and re-settled near the Sault.' In years to follow, Madeline Island became home to traders, the Members of the Society of Jesus, French explorers, voyageurs, hunters and trappers, fishermen, miners, loggers, entrepreneurs, and eventually summer tourists.

Over the course of history, Madeline Island has experienced boom and bust periods that coincide with a rise and fall in population. One of the first population increases associated with tourism occurred in the mid-nineteenth century. In 1854 Madeline Island was achieving its first publicity as a summer resort as reported in an article in The New York Daily Tribune of June 26, 1854 "This [La Pointe) is certainly the most delightful situation on Lake Superior." The only accommodation available for visitors at that time was the Madeline Island House, built by the American Fur Company. Prominently located across the street from the village dock, the three-story hotel accommodated 75 guests. During the summer months, it was prosperous due to the Sault Loc's opening and the wealth potential at copper and iron mines in Michigan's Upper Peninsula; both bringing men of means seeking investment. The Madeline Island House burned in 1866 and was never rebuilt, likely due to the shift of population growth to the mainland areas of Bayfield and Ashland, Wisconsin.

By 1870 a booming lumber industry on Lake Superior had been established. Lumbering was the biggest industry in Northern Wisconsin during this time, and, as a result, Madeline Island felt the impact of the modern industry of tourism. The communities themselves did little to promote it; rather, the promotion had been given by the early visitors, railroads, and devotees of the region, many of whom had business interests nearby. In the late 1880s tour boats brought tourists from Duluth and Two Harbors, Minnesota to tour every lighthouse on the Apostle Islands." Lighthouses on the Apostle Islands became a favorite sightseeing feature of the cruises that ran through the island group. Cruising was highly novel and exciting for the new workers arriving in the port communities where jobs were waiting. Excursion boats carrying 300 or more passengers were introduced to replace smaller ferries that were adequate for earlier traffic. This surge in tourism led to outside attempts to promote and develop Madeline Island as a resort community, however, this attempt was met with modest success. The Madeline Island Resort Company, based out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was incorporated on November 10, 1887, and attempted to sell shares and induce the development of the area. A brochure published by this company extolled the virtues of Madeline Island and the advantages of investing there and claiming the unlimited possibilities of the island. The company proposed the development of a 5000-acre state park, which would have included the northeast end of the island. The Madeline Island Resort Company apparently never got off the ground. Another attempt to stimulate development on the island was made by the Soo Line Railroad who proposed to construct a large inn, golf course, and numerous small cottages, also to no avail."

In 1894 summer residents began to arrive thus stimulating the population growth on Madeline Island. Rev. Edward P. Salmon, a retired minister from Beloit, Wisconsin is considered to be responsible for spurring the development of the island and introducing an affluent or "surprisingly congenial group of persons." He owned a significant section of land on Madeline Island which comprised all of the lake shore frontages from 18th St. to South Shore Road, a distance of approximately three-quarters of a mile, at some points his property extended back as far as one mile. In 1897, Rev. Salmon purchased the Old Protestant Mission of 1835. The building was restored and opened in 1898 under the name of the Old Mission and was used as accommodation for guests. That same year, Rev. Salmon built a cottage on the Old Mission property for a gentleman named Colonel Frederick W. Woods, who would later also become known for his contribution to the residential development of Madeline Island. At the turn of the century, two famous rows of houses, Nebraska Row located on the shore north of the village dock, and O'Brien's Row, located on the southwest shore of the island, just east of the municipal dock were developed on Madeline Island. Nebraska Row, the more famous of the two developments, was developed by Col. Woods in 1900. Like many others, Col. Woods initially came to Madeline Island to escape his affliction of hay fever. Along with Rev. Salmon, he is considered to be one of the most important individuals affecting the development of Madeline Island as a summer retreat." Nebraska Row is so named for the considerable number of Nebraskans who built summer homes there during the early decades of the 20th century. John O'Brien of St. Paul established O'Brien Row. He had erected a cottage along the southwest shore of the island, just east of the municipal dock. Soon thereafter, family members developed a string of cottages. Locally, this important development is known as O'Brien's Row." By 1906 many additional cottages were built by Rev. Salmon on the Old Mission property. The cottages were small, pre-fabricated structures that were used by many families who returned year after year. The style became known as "Mission Style" and became very popular with private owners on the island. Old Mission has had a broad and lasting impact on the summer resort aspect of Madeline Island. Many of the people, who later built private homes in other areas of the island, first came as guests to the Old Mission. Dr. A.G. Hull and his wife Cora were listed as guests of Rev. Salmon's mission in 1905 and 1906 and showed interest in purchasing land on the Island. In 1912, the Hulls purchased the property from Rev. Salmon and in 1913 built their house and ancillary buildings.

The early decades of the 20th century saw a small but steady growth in the summer population. The Hulls were one of many wealthy Midwesterners who built homes on Madeline Island as a retreat from the summer heat of the Plains. The Hull House and its ancillary buildings were known as Coole Park Manor. Coole Park Manor was an exceptional example of what the summer residents from the Plains sought island life to be. Servants accompanied the Hulls to Coole Park Manor and attended to their needs as well as the needs of their frequent guests. It is said by locals who still remember, that Mrs. Hull called for a formal dinner in the dining room virtually every day. (Taken from an unpublished brochure prepared by the current owners, Alan and Beth Fischlowitz).

In 1947, Coole Park Manor was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Vennum of Minneapolis, Minnesota who changed the name to Chateau Madeleine and operated it as a resort. Chateau Madeleine was well known throughout the Midwest as the premier place to stay on Madeline Island. An unpublished brochure displays newspaper clippings from Omaha, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Des Moines, Duluth, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Kansas City, and Chicago and from magazines such as Better Homes & Gardens, Travel, Coronet, The Bowhunter, and The Wisconsin North all hailing Chateau Madeleine as a popular vacation resort and is described as: "A fine old mansion, this now is a distinctive resort operated by a Minneapolis lawyer, Thomas Vennum and his wife."

Hull House was a locally prominent residence while under the ownership of the Hulls and later as a premier resort on the shores of Madeline Island while under the ownership of the Vennums and the current owners, Alan and Beth Fischlowitz who purchased the property in 1982. They continue to operate a resort under the name Brittany Cottages have carefully brought Coole Park Manor back to its formal splendor.

Architectural Significance

The architectural firm Wilder and Wight of Kansas City, Missouri City designed the Hull House as a 15-room house suitable for year-round residence. At the time it was built, it was anticipated to be the most elaborate and finest building on Madeline Island." The rustic materials, the irregular placement of windows, the large porches, and the rambling nature of the house, mask its true size and the elaborate finishes of the interior. In its architecture, it is a retreat, not a city home. In addition to the house, the estate had other features to provide for the residents' comfort and services, including a garage, a laundry, and a shop building. As a collection, Coole Park Manor represents the types of Northern Wisconsin retreats created by wealthy summer residents.

Madeline Island is known for its remote and rustic characteristics, rather than its manicured lawns. Historically, there has been little formal landscaping on the Island. One important and notable exception is Coole Park Manor. Elizabeth Hull, The daughter of Gregory and Cora Hull, undertook the task of designing and building the formal gardens around 1920. The Surrey School of Garden Design influenced Elizabeth when she developed the Coole Park Manor Garden early in the 20th century. The Surrey School of Garden Design was developed in the 1890s by the famous English gardener Gertrude Jeykll and English architect Edwin Lutyens. Gertrude was known for the return, toward the end of the 1800s, of the "cottage” garden, featuring the use of perennials in a “painterly" style. The formal garden was lush with roses surrounding a new pergola with a teahouse, stone walking paths a small pool, and a fountain. A tennis court was constructed around the same time as the gardens. Under the ownership of the Vennums, the pool was converted into a sandbox, the tea house removed to make way for a swingset, and the garden was overrun with ferns and daylilies. The original gardens have been recreated based on historic photos and a few pieces of the original pergola. The pool and center fountain were restored and put back into use in 1991.

The architectural firm Wilder and Wight was established in 1904. Edmund Wilder, originally from Kansas, had studied architecture in the East and returned to Kansas with his friend Thomas Wight, with whom he formed the partnership Wilder and Wight. Thomas Wight was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1874. His career in architecture began in 1891 in the prestigious office of McKim, Mead & White, of New York. McKim, Mead & White was considered to be the greatest training school for young architects in the country. He was associated with the firm for 12 years with the exception of one year that he spent studying in Italy and Greece. His name appears on the 1922 Role of Honor in the history of McKim, Mead & White as being one of forty out of seven hundred graduates whose activities and accomplishments have made them preeminent in their profession. Thomas Wight was widely recognized as a skilled architect who combined a sense of mass and proportion evident in the many buildings he designed. He designed the First National Bank, New England National Bank and Trust Company, St. Joseph Hospital and Nurses Home, the Roman Baths, Livestock Exchange Building, William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art, and the Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, all in Kansas City, Missouri. He originated the idea of the Wight Courtroom Plan that was first used in his own design of the Wyandotte County Courthouse, Kansas City, Kansas.

In 1911 Thomas' younger brother William Wight joined the firm. William Wight's architectural career closely parallels that of his brother. He was born in 1882 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. When he was eighteen he went to New York and started as a draftsman for the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White. Like his brother, he traveled and studied in Europe for one year before joining his brother in Kansas City. Five years later, Edward Wilder retired and the firm was reestablished as Wight and Wight. Many of the finest buildings in Kansas City from that period bear the name Wight and Wight, which became known as one of the most prestigious architectural firms at the turn of the century in Kansas City.

Wilder and Wight were primarily known for their commercial designs, and it was uncommon for them to prepare residential drawings. In the case of the Hull House, Wilder and Wight designed a house that is an exceptional example of architecture reflecting the Northwoods vacation home for the upper-class Midwesterners who made Madeline Island their retreat.

Coole Park Manor is architecturally a fine and intact example of a Northern Wisconsin summer estate. This resource compares to other properties in Northern Wisconsin - Seven Pines Lodge (Polk County), Forest Lodge (Bayfield County), and the Island of Happy Days (Barron County)-comparable examples of private rustic retreats and have been listed on the National Register. Wealthy individuals creating retreats in this region of the state built all of the above examples. In addition to a large house, the estate contained outbuildings for needed services. Coole Park Manor also has elaborate formal gardens to complete the grounds. While the property has been converted to a resort, it maintains a high degree of integrity to its period of significance.