Historic Register and Sites Inventory

About the City of Appleton Historic Register and Sites Inventory Map 

In 1978, the City of Appleton Planning staff conducted a Historical Building Survey which focused on identifying, inventorying and documenting the most historically and architecturally significant places in Appleton. This survey resulted in publishing a paper-bound report of the Historic Building Survey showcasing approximately 163 buildings and sites.  Then in 1989, they again conducted a Historic Sites Inventory as a supplement to the 1978 Historic Building Inventory.  The objective of the 1989 Historic Sites Inventory was to provide more information on several key buildings and sites. 

The City of Appleton has been certified by the State of Wisconsin Historic Preservation Office as a Certified Local Government.  A Certified Local Government must maintain a system for surveying and documenting historic properties.  In recognition of the importance of this requirement, the Community and Economic Development Department Staff and the Appleton Historic Preservation Commission undertook a historic resources inventory data conversion and update by converting previous paper-bound historic building surveys into an interactive map using the Geographical Information Systems (GIS) database software programming tools.  The City of Appleton Historic Register and Sites Inventory Map displays Individual Designated Local, State and National Historic Buildings and Sites, Historic Districts, Razed Historic Buildings as well as Potential Individual Local Historic Buildings, Sites and Districts.

The public can now easily search, navigate and explore the City’s Historic Register and Sites Inventory Map from computers, smartphones, and tablets.  The user can click on designated buildings, sites and districts, razed historic buildings, and potential historic buildings, sites and district for additional information such as address information, historical data, construction date, architect and builder, narrative of local history, photos and national nomination forms. 

Buildings and sites identified on the map as Potential Individual Local Historic Buildings, Sites and Districts were determined to satisfy one (1) or more of the following criteria that determines whether a building or site has the potential to be designated as a Local Historic Building or Site.

• Criteria 1:  Building, structure or site identified with important events or exemplifies or reflects the broad cultural, political, economic or social history of the nation, state or community; or 

•  Criteria 2:  Building, structure or site is identified with historic personages in national, state or local history; or 

• Criteria 3:  Building or structure embodies the distinguishing characteristics of an architectural type or specimen inherently valuable for a study of a period, style, method of construction, or of indigenous materials or craftsmanship, or that represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction; or

• Criteria 4:  Building or structure is representative of the notable work of a master builder, designer or architect who influenced his age; or

• Criteria 5:  Building, structure or site has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important to prehistory or history.

Click on City of Appleton Historic Register and Sites Inventory Map to access this interactive mapping tool. 

What Does it Mean if a Building or Site is Included on the City of Appleton’s Historic Register and Sites Inventory Map?

The inclusion of a building or site on the historic register and sites inventory map does not trigger any special historic status, regulations or rights unless the building or site has been designated as a local historic structure, or site (identified by a green dot on the map) by the Common Council after review and recommendation has been made by the Appleton Historic Preservation Commission pursuant to the Appleton Historic Preservation Ordinance. 

The information contained in this historic register and site inventory may become outdated over time, and some properties may be altered or no longer exist.  The historic register and sites inventory does not include all of the City’s fine historical and architectural resources, as many buildings, sites and objects have never been surveyed. 

To add a new property record or to correct information on an existing property record, contact Don Harp, Principal Planner in the Community and Economic Development Department of the City of Appleton by email at don.harp@appleton.org and include the following information in your update request: current property address (for existing records), information to be added or changed, and your source information.

When providing information about a historical fact, such as the story of a historic event or the name of an architect, be sure to list your sources. The Appleton Historic Preservation Commission will only create or update a property record if they can verify that your submission is factual and accurate.

We would like to express our special thanks of gratitude to the Lawrence University students under the direction of Peter Peregrine, PhD, RPA, Professor of Anthropology who assisted the Appleton Historic Preservation Commission and City Staff with doing a great deal of historic and genealogy research on the buildings and sites included in the inventory which helped us in successfully completing our update to the City’s Historic Register and Sites Inventory Map.

Please contact the Appleton Community Development Department at (920) 832-6468.