Depot Updates

National Register Process Underway

THE process of listing the Baraboo Depot and Division Headquarters building on the National Register of Historic Places is underway. The building was deemed potentially eligible for the Register several years ago when a preliminary questionnaire was submitted to the Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS). It was determined that the building could qualify for the National Register of Historic Places due to its importance to transportation history and its uniqueness as a combination depot and division headquarters building.

The nomination is being coordinated by the Division of Historic Preservation at the Wisconsin Historical Society and being funded through the Fuldner Heritage Fund. The endowed fund was started with a generous gift from the Jeffris Family Foundation to the Wisconsin Historical Society in 2011 and was named in honor of Henry Fuldner, who devoted himself to the preservation of significant Wisconsin properties and served on the Jeffris Family Foundation board for thirty years.

One purpose of the fund is to recognize Wisconsin heritage by funding the preparation of National Register nominations in the state. The National Register is the nation’s official list of places significant in American history and culture. Listing of the Baraboo Depot will make the property eligible for historic preservation income tax credit programs for rehabilitation and other funding. Beth Miller of Madison has been engaged by WHS to write the nomination for the Baraboo Depot. Miller has written over 100 nominations to the National Register since 1984 and in 2008 wrote the successful nomination for the Chicago & North Western Railroad Depot in West Bend, Wisconsin.

SCHS would like to thank the Wisconsin Historical Society for choosing to fund the nomination with the Fuldner Heritage Fund and for administering the project.

Historic Structure Report

SCHS is currently choosing a qualified firm to prepare the historic structure report for the Baraboo Depot. A request for proposals issued in late January received ten proposals from across the upper Midwest. The SCHS Development Committee has been reviewing the proposals and will make a recommendation to the SCHS Board of Directors by the end of March. The historic structure report will provide a valuable foundation for the rehabilitation of the depot by providing documentary, graphic, and physical information about the depot’s history and existing condition while also addressing goals for its reuse. The report will include schematic programming and design in consultation with SCHS and stakeholders. Cost estimates will also be included for the restoration and reuse of the building.

Depot Donations

January-February, 2021

Baraboo State Bank

Richard & Jane Dana

Gerald & Ellen Dargel

Laurie Dummer in honor of Paul & Annie Wolter

Chuck Ecklund in memory of Demi Sprecher

Nijole Etzwiler in memory of David Etzwiler

Mary France in honor of Paul & Annie Wolter

& Laurie France Dummer

Ken & Mary Grant

Robert Harmel

Matt & Joan Hart

Larry C. Lamar

Riverside General Rental Centers, Inc.

Al Schroeder & Jean Wendt

John & Tonia Young