PROjects
The saxonia house
Where do we start? Built in 1855 by Ernst Klessig and funded by his father, Johann Andreas Klessig, the Klessigs were among a wave of 1848ers (political refugees) who fled failed revolutions in the German states to come to America. They chose Wisconsin, which had became a state in 1848. They were considered Freethinkers. Freethinkers tended to be well-educated, politically progressive, and skeptical of organized religion. Many were influenced by Enlightenment philosophy.
This house is a rare example of German Half-Timbered architecture or fachwerk construction. It's the largest of its kind in Wisconsin and possibly the US. It served as a country inn, store, the first Turner Society (Turnvereine) in Washington County, and by 1860, Ernst had built a brewery and created a hillside beer cave to lager the beer. Today is is...
- a Washington County landmark
- listed on the National and Wisconsin Register of Historic Places because of its architectural importance
- Has stood 170 years and is in fair condition
Nelson/Bailey Log House
In 2024, Friends of Saxonia House received a $50,000 grant to build a Welcome Center building on our grounds. The grant was received from Washington County Tourism Council and is being used to put together an authentic Norwegian Log Cabin which was moved from western Wisconsin.
This building dates to the same period as the Saxonia House and will be used as an exhibit hall that explores Norwegian immigrants in Wisconsin, the role of Romantic art in early tourism, and a friendship between two Romantic painters: German painter Casper David Friedrich and Norwegian painter Johan Christian Dahl in Dresden.
ABout period construction
The Saxonia House features half-timbering (fachwerk) construction. This video shows another example, the Elmer Kuhn House, built around 1855 in the Twp. Herman, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. Board member Greg Zahn paid a restoration worker to take apart the house and rebuild it on his property. The house otherwise would have been demolished.
OUR MISSION
- To create the Saxonia Heritage Conservancy, a self-supporting, not-for-profit organization focused on the preservation of the Saxonia House and its accompanying buildings and property.
- To provide cultural, arts, culinary and historic programming at the Saxonia House, which will be professionally restored and furnished to the year 1855. The reconstruction of its Beer Hall will provide a welcoming space for modern, multiuse events and functions.