Old Third Ward Neighborhood Association Home History of the Old Third Ward History of the Old Third Ward Neighborhood Association Protest in the Form of Art Old Third Ward Neighborhood Association Documents Newsletters Streets (includes buildings) How Old Are the Homes in the Old Third Ward? Ghost Buildings Neighborhood Features People Houses on the National Register of Historic Places Acknowledgements

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Fox Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau City of Appleton Historic Hearthstone House Museum History Museum at the Castle Fox Valley Genealogical Society (FVGS) Outagamie County WIGenWeb Appleton Historical Society

Contact the Old Third Ward

625 W. Prospect Ave.
Street number prior to 1925: 1033 Second

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This grand Queen Anne style home, the work of Oshkosh architect William Waters, was built in 1882 for Henry J. Rogers and his family, wife Cremora and daughter Kitty. Many local craftsmen were called upon to provide the sumptuous details found in the house: plasterers, woodworkers, tile workers, etc. Artist J. Frank Waldo did the fresco work. This is arguably the most historically significant home in Appleton.

A meeting with Henry Rogers and a representative of the Western Edison Light Company resulted in Rogers' fascination with electricity. He wired his home through the gas pipes he'd already had installed, just in case this new power source did not live up to expectations. On September 30, 1882, this building became the first private residence in the country to be lit by a hydroelectric central power station using the Edison system. Two other buildings also were lit that day: Appleton Paper and Pulp Company owned by John Van Nortwick and run by Henry J. Rogers, and Kimberly & Clark's Vulcan Paper Mill.

The Hearthstone, c.1930-1938 when it was a tea room. Taken from W. Prospect Ave. looking south down S. Memorial Dr. Postcard from the Fox Valley Memory collection. Used with the permission of the Appleton Public Library.

The house was known as The Rogers House until the early 1930's when it was a tea room. It was then that it acquired the name "The Hearthstone" which makes reference to the many fireplaces throughout the home.
Since the mid-1980's a non-profit group, the Friends of Hearthstone, Inc. has owned the beautifully restored home. The home retains its original period brass light switches and electroliers. The Hearthstone Historic House Museum is on the State and National Register of Historic Places and was featured in both the 1978 and 1989 inventory of historic buildings in Appleton. It is open to the public year 'round and features periodic exhibits in addition to the permanent Hands-On Hydro Adventure Center. For the complete story of the house and its place in early electrical history, see The Hearthstone's website.

Image of the residence of H. J. Rogers, from Appleton, Wis., Illustrated (1892), p. 121.
Used with the permission of the Appleton Public Library.

The Hearthstone, rear view from S.Memorial Dr. Postcard (1983) from the Fox Valley Memory collection. Used with the permission of the Appleton Public Library.