If someone told you that an old stone stable had been torn down, and some of your fellow residents had organized to rebuild, stone by stone, the stable on a new location, what would you think? I heard of this project months ago, and when I first heard of it, I was surprised; it’s a bold idea toward a traditional end.
Those who founded this town of wood and stone did so with horses and mules, lanterns and candles, steam and sweat. They had harder lives than we do, and despite the difficulty of their circumstances, they bequeathed to us the public thing – the municipality – which now defines much of our connection to each other. It is also, however regrettably, the thing over which we sometimes contend, as we differ in how we have managed our common inheritance.
Set that all aside, for a moment, and consider the beauty and dedication of the effort to restore and preserve our past.
Here’s part of a description of the stable, from a local website:
Who built the stone stable and for what purpose? Little is known for sure. The first settlers came to Whitewater in 1837 and by 1850 a small village existed in a triangle formed by Church, Whitewater and Main Streets. The stable stood within this triangle. According to research by historian Carol Cartwright, Nelson Combs, a wagon-maker and immigrant to Whitewater from New York State, paid taxes and built houses on adjacent properties in 1845 and 1847, about the time the stable was believed to have been built. Combs was typical of many “Yankee immigrants who came to Wisconsin with education or a skill. Unlike later homesteaders…..early Yankee immigrants usually came with money to buy land or establish a business in Wisconsin.
For individual homeowners to own horses was uncommon at the time which suggests a business of some sort. Stone construction is expensive in materials, labor and skill. Who went to the expense and trouble to build a well-proportioned, durable, fireproof building and, furthermore, one with an elegant arched doorway? Was the stable part of an early wagon-making enterprise? Perhaps a precursor to the Winchester & Partridge Mfg. Company, the wagon and plow factory founded about 1850 which by 1870 was producing 3500 wagons per year including the renowned Whitewater Wagon. Although there is no evidence of the presence of a forge inside the stable, perhaps it was made of stone in order to be fireproof in the vicinity of a forge.?
The stable is made of limestone which is the bedrock stone of the Whitewater area lying quite close to the surface in many areas. Quarrying began very early and is still in operation at the South Franklin Street site in Whitewater. Very possibly, the stone protruded from the earth in 1837 when settlers arrived.
The stable’s arch is one of its most distinctive features. In use for centuries and celebrated in Roman and Gothic construction, an arch is elegant and strong, but not the easiest way to create an opening in a building. It would have been much easier to use a timber piece or long flat stone for the span than to construct an arch which required a scaffold to hold the shape until the carved arch stones were fitted in place.
Here is a photograph of the stone stable in its former location:
Best wishes and thanks to those who have, unselfishly, donated their effort toward a beautiful, respectful preservation of our common heritage.