Hartland’s Founder’s Home, First Church and Historic Tavern

Hartland’s Founder’s Home, First Church and Historic Tavern. . , Stephan Warren, founder of this community, walked to area in 1838 from Ann Arbor, Michigan and staked homesteader claim in the area that is central Hartland. The first church was founded in 1842. Early worshipers meeting in homes, voted to become the First Congregational Church. , The Watertown Plank Road, now Capitol Drive, was completed in 1848 and became a “highway” for delivering grains and hops to the Milwaukee breweries. The columned Burr Oak Tavern at 315/317 E. Capitol Drive, circa 1853, kitty corner from this spot, provided rest for travelers on the road. , Warren built his own timber framed brick home in 1855, where it stands today across the street at 235 E. Capitol Drive. In 1857, Warren donated this land, and the congregation built a small yellow brick church. He presented his wife, Mary, with a lovely melodeon for her new home, and each Sunday it was carried across the street, the Plank Road, to the church and back. , Today’s church, designed by William Redden, was built in Late Gothic Revival style in 1924 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as are the Stephan Warren Home and Burr Oak Tavern structure. The Warren melodeon is still in the church and sounds as sweet.