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Historic House Tour

These six Janesville homes plus a church and elementary school in the Jefferson/Bostwick Historic District will be featured on the Rock County Historical Society’s 29th Historic House and Garden Tour.

Photo by: Kyle Bursaw

Jayne and Philip Schauer

1218 Ruger Ave.

This Greek Revival style house reflected the agrarian lifestyle of owners Thomas and Sarah Sleeper when they moved into the newly built home on Ruger Avenue nearly a decade before the Civil War.

Although the house has been through a number of alterations and additions since the New York natives moved in, its classical design has endured.

Attracted to its understated elegance, Jayne and Philip Schauer bought the house in 1995 and began restoring it. The 10-year process reversed 160 years of ravaging effects and uncovered a timber frame construction.

The space between siding and plaster was filled with “nogging”—a curious 19th-century technique of filling wall cavities with brick and mortar. The original mullioned window sashes were refurbished and replaced with salvaged wavy glass of the era. Wood shingles were put on the roof, and old growth white pine was used to replicate missing and damaged trim and siding.

The staircase, baluster and railings feature the original cherry finish, while the trim, soft wood floors, paneled walls and doors are painted simply. A tray ceiling and built-in display cabinets are new in the dining room. The kitchen area was redesigned. A diverse collection of antiques creates the warm ambiance of a bygone era.

Recent landscaping unearthed a brick walk that leads to the home’s front entrance. » Order a reprint of this photo