Stone Stable

Stone Stable. Circa 1845. This pioneer-era stone stable was originally located in the alley near the First English Lutheran Church on Main Street and was moved to its present site near the Depot Museum in 2007. The stone stable is a rare example of early stone construction in the city. The walls are built of irregularly coursed limestone rubble that was probably quarried locally. The stones vary widely in size, and the only decorative elements are the large stones over the window openings and the prominent stone arch over the main entrance. The rough-constructed doors and shutters are typical of outbuildings constructed in the 19th century., The first use of the stone stable is a mystery. Its location suggests it was a residential outbuilding, serving as a horse barn and/or carriage house, but its size and type of construction is unusual for a typical outbuilding from the pioneer era. Historic records indicate it was probably built by Nelson Combs, a New Englander who came to Whitewater in 1845. Listed as a wagon-maker in the 1850 census, it is possible that Combs built the stone stable as a small wagon shop., Combs left Whitewater around 1852, and for the rest of the 19th century the building was used as a horse barn. For a time, a large frame addition was attached to the building and used for the horses and carriages of members of the nearby Congregational Church. Eventually, the stone stable was acquired by the First English Lutheran Church. In 2003 the stone stable was scheduled for demolition, and local citizens formed the Stone Stable Leadership Group to save it. The group raised funds and volunteered many hours to disassemble and reconstruct the building which was dedicated on this site on November 17, 2007. Within the front wall there is a time capsule filled with personal stories and artifacts collected during the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Home-Coming festival of 1907., Just as the Halverson Log Cabin was preserved on the grounds of the UW-Whitewater campus in 1907 to honor the shared past of that era, the Stone Stable honors the shared past of Whitewater residents in 2007., The Stone Stable is owned by the City of Whitewater and leased to the Whitewater Historical Society., Caption #1 - Sanborn-Perris Map Company, Whitewater, 1912. This image shows the stone stable (small blue square center of map) in its original location in 1912. The large frame carriage house addition is still extant in this image., Caption #2 - Community volunteers young and old worked throughout the summer of 2007 sorting original stones in preparation for the reconstruction of the stone stable.