De Pere, WI. – The Wisconsin Historical Society placed the Daviswood Ranch Homes Historic District (De Pere, Brown County) on the State Register of Historic Places on May 14, 2021.
The Daviswood Ranch Homes Historic District has architectural merit for its collection of 35 single-family residences located on the north edge of the city of De Pere. The U-shaped plat was established in 1952 and the homes were constructed between 1953 and 1957. Homes were custom-built for people of the city of De Pere and the city of Green Bay’s managerial, entrepreneurial, and professional elite. All but one of these houses are one-story and all but one are fine examples of the Ranch style (the outlier is a multi-story Contemporary style home). These houses were built by local contractors and most were custom-built for their first owners.
The houses in the district have varied floor plans but most are rectangular and have anywhere from 1,900 to 2,500 square feet of living space, typically including a living room with a fireplace, a dining room, a kitchen, three bedrooms, a large bathroom, and very often a basement playroom with a second fireplace and a second bathroom. All of the houses were required by deed covenant to have an attached garage adding at least another 500 square feet to the overall square footage of these houses. The construction was of high quality and homes are of brick or stone veneer, or vertical board siding with large masonry chimneys. This district is an excellent, cohesive expression of mid-century design.
The State Register is Wisconsin’s official list of state properties determined to be significant to Wisconsin’s heritage. The State Historic Preservation Office at the Wisconsin Historical Society administers both the State Register and National Register in Wisconsin.
To learn more about the State and National Register programs in Wisconsin, visit www.wisconsinhistory.org.
