It’s WHAT Tuesday! We are strolling down the avenue and it seems obvious that we should highlight a true classic of Wausau – The Henry Miller House (1314 Grand Avenue).
Built in 1894 this house has many hallmarks of the Queen Anne style. The most obvious is the polygonal turret (with an iron finial )on the south side. Other features include gingerbreading, mix of shingles including fish scales, an irregular roof line, and pierced wood canopies over the second story windows on the corner.
Additions were added in 1920 and 1984. In 1981 it was moved 150 feet south to save it from being razed.
This house was built by John Drisko, a millwright at a local mill. He was a known builder in Wausau, having built other houses including Queen Annes in area. Unfortunately he took his life before completing the house. His widow, Cassie, did live there until 1898 when it was purchased by Henry Miller.
Henry Miller was a local judge and politician. He immigrated to the area in 1872 where he taught in a rural school and clerked at a store, as well as editing a German weekly newspaper. He served as the city clerk and the state assembly. He was elected to the municipal court and then county judge. He lived in the house until 1920, his widow remained until 1924.
In 1924 the house was sold to John Sell. Sell was a local hardware store owner.
In the 1950s it was remodeled for apartments.
By the late 70s it was vacant, until its move south and restoration.
The architect of the home is not known for sure. Some sources state it was Drisko. But others mention George Franklin Barber. Barber was an architect out of Tennessee and one of the most successful of his time of the late 1880s-1915. He was noted for his residential designs, including Queen Anne and other popular styles of the era. He started his own architectural blue print/catalog mail order business. Eventually he employed 30 draftsmen and 20 secretaries to fill orders. By the time the mail order business ended in 1908 they had created 800 designs and sold upwards of 20,000 sets of blueprints. He also built many homes
Today the house is listed on the National and State Register of Historic Homes.
– Note –
Added information sent to us from the owner of the House Adam Doede
Hello friends! The Henry Miller House is our labor of love. I can happily add a little more information about the house’s history. The house is indeed a modified George Franklin Barber Design No. 128 from Cottage Souvenir 2nd and 4th Editions. There are many examples of this same house all over the country, including another one here in Wausau on 600 block of S 4th Ave.
John Drisko, the original builder, got heat stroke while building the house in the summer of 1894. This sadly affected him greatly, and sadly he took his own life in the stables behind the house. His widow, Cassie, had the house completed. It is interesting to note that there are definite signs (differences in millwork and construction techniques) of two seperate crews having built the house; John Drisko’s and whoever his widow farmed it to.
Both Henry and Helen Miller passed away in the house, and both of their funerals were here. John and Clara Sell purchased the house in 1924; John was mayor of Wausau from 1918-20, and served in a number of municipal and county roles, including sheriff. The Sell’s time in the house was was marked by several tragedies. The Sell’s youngest son, John Jr, passed away in 1932, and Clara passed away only a few months later. The family business, Sell Bros. Hardware, burned down, and then the oldest son, Arnold, passed away in 1952. John Sell passed away here in 1955, after which the house went to his daughter who used it as a boarding house before it became derelict in the 1970s.
By the mid 2010s, the house was again derelict and suffering from years of neglect. My wife and I purchased her in 2019 and rezoned her back to a single family house for the first time since 1955. We still have many projects to complete, but we are hoping to finish the exterior this summer and hopefully have the garage built in the next couple of years.
Here’s an interior picture of the parlor. Despite having served a number of different uses, the interior remained largely intact. The original doors, windows, flooring, and casings survived, mostly unmolested. I replicated all of the missing picture rail based on shadowing on the corner blocks, and added crown and ceiling medallions. I do not know if the house ever had crown moulding (the ceilings have been sheetrocked) but what I added is appropriate for the period and style.
