Wade, Sylvanus, House

About this property

The Sylvanus Wade House is a former stagecoach inn located in Greenbush, Wisconsin, United States. The house provided lodging and meals to travelers in the mid-1800s, before the construction of a nearby railroad made the stagecoach route obsolete. Today, it is part of the Wade House Historic Site. In 1844, Sylvanus Wade moved his family to the Greenbush area, where he purchased several hundred acres of land with the intent of building a town. The first dwelling they built was a log home that was repeatedly enlarged as the family grew and the number of visitors increased. A three-story wooden Greek Revival house was built between 1848 and 1851. It quickly gained attention for its large size and stylish appearance. Wade began advertising his "Half Way House" in Sheboygan in 1849. This, coupled with the inn's location halfway between the larger cities of Fond du Lac and Sheboygan, Wisconsin on the Fond du Lac-Sheboygan Plank Road, made it a popular stopover for travelers during the 1850s and 1860s. However, when travel by horse and stagecoach became obsolete and the railroad between Sheboygan and Fond du Lac went through Glenbeulah to the north, the house's full-time use as an inn was discontinued. Ironically, a railroad directors election meeting was held at the house in 1854. The family continued to host personal guests at the house in the following decades, and hosted events such as business meetings, socials, wedding anniversaries, and showers. By 1917 the house was being referred to as the historic old "Wade House". The house was owned by Hollis Wade until his death in 1921, at which time ownership passed to his son William. A domestic argument at the house in 1927 ended with William accidentally shooting his son-in-law, Fred Limberg, in the leg. In 1939 an effort was made to turn the Wade House into a going business, with advertising noting its availability for private events and dinners. Ownership of the house passed out of the family in 1941 when it was sold to Mr. and Mrs. M. J. Dorst of Freeport, Illinois, with the new owners announcing their intent to restore it to 1850s condition. Martin Dorst was a native of nearby Plymouth. and Mary Dorst was a friend of the Wades from childhood. William Wade died in 1943 at the age of 71. Frequent mention of the house in the society columns of The Sheboygan Press throughout the 1940s indicates that it continued to be a popular destination. Even as late as June 1950 rooms were being rented out. The Methodist church of Greenbush used the Wade House for church services for a two-year period from 1944 to 1946. Attempts to operate a business were made in 1949 when Mrs. Martin Dorst's son, Clare Dorst, announced that he would be operating a restaurant in the house.

Location

Categories

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

More in Sheboygan County

Historic places, battles, and census history across Sheboygan County.

More historic places in Wisconsin

Browse all historic places in Wisconsin.

Conflict records

Explore 19,000+ military engagements across American history.

Wisconsin history

Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.