Israel Stowell Temperance House

The Israel Stowell Temperance House was an alcohol-free tavern and inn established in 1840 in Delavan, Wisconsin. It was created as part of Delavan’s early identity as a temperance colony, a planned community founded by Baptist reformers Samuel and Henry Phoenix. The Phoenix brothers had emerged from the religious revivals of western New York’s so-called Burned-over District and sought to establish a settlement opposed to slavery and alcohol. When they founded Delavan in 1836, they promoted the community as a temperance settlement and included restrictions on alcohol in deeds for land sold to colonists. In 1840, the Phoenix brothers learned of several alcohol-free taverns operating in southeastern Wisconsin and concluded that Delavan needed a similar institution. They arranged with Israel Stowell, a 27-year-old immigrant from New York, to construct and operate the house. The Phoenixes supplied lumber from their sawmill and contributed other building materials, while Stowell agreed to run the establishment without serving alcohol. The building opened for business in June 1840. The original structure was a two-story, side-gabled saltbox building with a lower rear elevation. Its front entrance used Greek Revival detailing, including a substantial molded lintel and supporting pilasters. The central section was constructed with hand-hewn oak and walnut timbers joined by mortise-and-tenon techniques. The surviving early windows are multi-pane units, and the interior walls used plaster over oak split-lath. Soon after the initial construction, Stowell expanded the building eastward by three bays using similar post-and-beam methods. A later eastern extension employed balloon framing. These additions reflect the building’s transition from a small early settlement inn to a more substantial local institution. The house served several functions in the young community. In addition to providing lodging and hospitality without alcohol, it became a meeting place for residents. Delavan’s first town meeting was held there in 1842, and the inn also accommodated travelers using the road west from Racine. Its role therefore extended beyond that of a commercial tavern: it was a civic venue and a practical stopping place in a developing Wisconsin settlement. The temperance colony’s founding ideals weakened after both Phoenix brothers died in the early 1840s. Stowell left the tavern in the middle of that decade, after which other innkeepers operated the property. By the late 1840s, an innkeeper identified in historical accounts as Mr. Harkness was serving alcohol there, ending the establishment’s original alcohol-free character. Competition from newer Delavan hotels also reduced the house’s commercial importance. In 1854, Eliphas Gates purchased the building, enlarged it, and converted it into three residences for his children. A bay window was added to the central section later in the nineteenth century, and a Victorian addition was attached to the west end around the turn of the twentieth century. Members of the Gates family and their descendants occupied the property for approximately 120 years. These residential adaptations helped preserve the early structure while changing its function from a public inn to a group of private homes. The Israel Stowell Temperance House is now chiefly significant as a surviving artifact of nineteenth-century temperance reform, early community planning, vernacular construction, and Delavan’s settlement history. It was listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and has also received broader popular attention through coverage in USA Today. As a historic property rather than an operating hospitality business, it is treated here as a defunct establishment and heritage site rather than a current consumer brand.

Delavan was established in 1836 by Samuel and Henry Phoenix, Baptist reformers from western New York who wanted to create a community shaped by temperance and other reform principles. They selected land north of Delavan Lake and promoted the settlement as a temperance colony. Alcohol restrictions were written into deeds for property sold to colonists, and a Baptist church reflecting the founders’ values was organized in 1839. The Phoenix brothers later learned that several alcohol-free taverns, known as temperance houses, were operating in southeastern Wisconsin. They decided that their own settlement required a similar public house and recruited Israel Stowell to build and operate one. Stowell was a 27-year-old New York immigrant. The Phoenixes supplied lumber from their sawmill and additional materials, while Stowell undertook construction and agreed to keep the premises free of alcohol. The original section was completed in the spring of 1840, and the house opened in June. It was built in a side-gabled saltbox form, with two stories visible at the front and one at the rear. The Greek Revival entrance had a molded lintel and pilasters. Oak and walnut beams were hewn by hand and joined with mortise-and-tenon construction. Early windows and plastered split-lath walls survive in parts of the central section. The building was soon enlarged eastward by three bays using related post-and-beam methods, followed by another extension of approximately ten feet using balloon framing. The house quickly became more than a lodging stop. It provided a public gathering place for Delavan residents, and the first town meeting was held there in 1842. It also served travelers moving west from Racine, making it a useful way station during the settlement’s early development. The temperance colony’s program lost momentum after Samuel and Henry Phoenix died in the early 1840s. Stowell departed in the middle of that decade, and subsequent innkeepers took over the property. By the late 1840s, an innkeeper known as Mr. Harkness was serving alcohol, so the building no longer operated according to its original temperance agreement. New hotels in Delavan then drew business away from the older establishment. Eliphas Gates bought the property in 1854. He expanded it and converted the building into three residences for his children. A bay window was added to the central section later in the nineteenth century, while a Victorian addition was placed at the west end around the beginning of the twentieth century. Gates descendants continued living in the property for roughly 120 years. The building’s importance now derives from its connection to Delavan’s planned temperance settlement, its role in early civic life, and its preserved nineteenth-century construction. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Although its original tavern business is defunct and its later use was residential, the property remains an identifiable historic landmark associated with the settlement’s reformist origins.

• 1978

  Listed on the National Register of Historic Places

  [1]Israel Stowell Temperance Houseen.wikipedia.org

  The property received formal national historic recognition in the United States.

• 1854

  Property converted into residences

  [1]Israel Stowell Temperance Houseen.wikipedia.org

  Eliphas Gates purchased, enlarged, and remodeled the building into three homes for his children.

• 1842

  First Delavan town meeting held at the house

  [1]Israel Stowell Temperance Houseen.wikipedia.org

  The building served as a civic gathering place for the young settlement and hosted Delavan’s first town meeting.

• 1840

  Tavern constructed and opened

  [1]Israel Stowell Temperance Houseen.wikipedia.org

  Israel Stowell built the original house with materials supplied in part by the Phoenix brothers and opened it as an alcohol-free tavern in June.

• 1839

  Temperance-oriented Baptist church organized

  [1]Israel Stowell Temperance Houseen.wikipedia.org

  A Baptist church was established in Delavan in keeping with the Phoenix brothers’ religious and temperance objectives.

• 1836

  Delavan founded as a temperance colony

  [1]Israel Stowell Temperance Houseen.wikipedia.org

  Samuel and Henry Phoenix established Delavan in Wisconsin as a planned community opposed to alcohol and committed to wider reform principles.

An alcohol-free community tavern and inn created to support Delavan’s nineteenth-century temperance-colony ideals; today, its significance is historical and architectural rather than commercial.

• 1854

  Conversion from tavern to residential propertyStrategy

  Background

  The original tavern faced competition from newer Delavan hotels and had lost its distinctive role as a temperance establishment.

  Action taken

  Eliphas Gates bought the property, expanded it, and divided it into three homes for his children.

  Aftermath

  The building remained in residential use among Gates descendants for approximately 120 years, preserving the historic structure after its commercial hospitality role ended.

  Source

• 1840

  Establishment as an alcohol-free tavernStrategy

  Background

  Delavan’s founders wanted the new settlement to provide public institutions consistent with its temperance-colony principles.

  Action taken

  The Phoenix brothers arranged for Israel Stowell to construct and operate a tavern that would not serve alcohol.

  Aftermath

  The house became a community meeting place and traveler stop, but the alcohol-free policy ended after Stowell’s departure and a later innkeeper began serving alcohol in the late 1840s.

  Source

1. 1Israel Stowell Temperance Houseen.wikipedia.org