Kevin Kirkpatrick / Daily Regist
Scott Benson, groundskeeper, opens the exterior door to the basement of the Indian Agency House on Friday.

Over the next few years, the Historic Indian Agency House in Portage will get some major restorations.

Most of the main floor structure underneath the house will be replaced. The house, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, is more than 175 years old, and the original timber floor beam bases have been deteriorating slowly because of old age and natural water damage. The floor base holds up the entire two-story house.

Other aspects of the restoration project include replacing any wood throughout the house that is rotten, replacing the window sills and replacing most of the roof structure.

"Mother Nature is starting to take over," said Scott Benson, Agency House groundskeeper and caretaker. "The place just needs a little tender loving care."

Benson is a second-generation caretaker for the Agency House. His family has lived on the grounds and has watched over the property since the 1940s.

The floor work probably will require the house to be lifted from its foundation, said Indian Agency House Executive Director Destinee Udelhoven.

"We're planning for the worst and hoping for the best," Udelhoven said.

All items within the house will have to be removed before the house can be lifted.

"We only want to take stuff out once, so we want to make sure everything is set to go before we do so," Udelhoven said.

The project, which is expected to take several months to complete, is contingent on a successful fundraising campaign by the Wisconsin chapter of the National Society of Colonial Dames of America, owners of the 19th-century building. The entire project is expected to cost $650,000, said Barbara Collings of Milwaukee, representative of the Wisconsin chapter of Colonial Dames. The total amount also includes about $100,000 for paint and furnishings for the house, Collings said.

Collings would not say how much the capital campaign, which was started about two years ago, has raised, but said the campaign is "well on its way."

Because all of the money must be raised before work can begin, there is no prospective time line for the project, Collings said.

"I certainly hope we can get it done within two years," she said.

Collings said the restoration will preserve the house for future generations.

"This fundraising project is not only for Portage and Wisconsin, but for American history," Collings said. "It's a national treasure."

Udelhoven said the project cost is so high because crews must follow specific restoration standards. The standards are in place because the house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

"We need to try our best to get materials from the same era the house was built or from the same area the original wood came from," Udelhoven said. "Modern resources are our last resort."

Written records show that a large portion of the wood used to construct the house came from Green Bay, Udelhoven said. Modern construction techniques and practices can be used for the project as long as the house is restored to its original state.

The grounds still will be open to the public during construction, but tours of the Agency House will not be held.

What work needs done?

Most visitors to the historic site can't see how much work the house needs. Evidence of deterioration can be seen only by stepping into the basement, which is off-limits to the public.

But once inside the basement, a look up at the floor structure above shows the problem, Benson said.

"Some of these floor sills have been so soaked with water that you can put your hand right through them," he said.

The basement, which is original to the house, has a clay floor and brick walls that are a little more than 6 feet tall. All of the floor sills were constructed by hand, and many were attached with wood pegs instead of nails.

"If you look real close at some of these (floor sills), you can see the axe marks," Benson said.

Benson said sections of the wooden floor, which sits on the floor base frame, were restored in 1930. No floor or any other structural renovations have been done since.

"This can't be patched anymore. It needs to be replaced," Benson said.

The basement

The basement has an interior entrance through the kitchen and an exterior one.

The basement is broken into two rooms by a stone wall that covers about two-thirds of the house's footprint.

The exterior door played a huge role during the Black Hawk War of 1832, Udelhoven said.

"People would hide their animals in their basement to protect them from being stolen," Udelhoven said. "Horses were prized possessions back then. They were like our cars today."

While there are no records of how many animals the Agency House basement would hold, Benson estimates that two horses and maybe a cow could fit comfortably there.

"The exterior door was used as a ramp, and they would bring the animals right down here," Benson said.

The rest of the basement probably was used a pantry, Benson said.

First phase complete

The Indian Agency House underwent the first phase of restoration in October.

This project helped alleviate some problems the area around the house was having with naturally draining water, said Greg Kluge, owner of 4 Seasons Landscape in Portage, who handled the project.

The house sits on a hill, but water was leaking into the basement and being soaked up by the baseboards instead of running down the hill.

Kluge's crew spent four days putting clear limestone and rain tile in a small trench around the house. The new drainage system will help protect the wood floor sills in the house from further water damage, Kluge said.

Kluge said the overall project went well.

"Me and my crew were pretty excited about working out there," Kluge said. "We found some pieces of china and chicken bones, but we didn't find anything cool or historical."

Higher recognition

The Historic Indian Agency House, built in 1832, is one of Wisconsin's earliest houses. It was constructed by the federal government as a residence for John Kinzie, agent to the Ho-Chunk. The Agency House is on its original site above the Portage Canal, located off Highway 33 east of Portage on Agency House Road. It has been restored to the time of Kinzie's occupation.

The Historic Preservation Commission, in cooperation with representatives of the local landmark, is trying to earn a higher degree of recognition on the National Register of Historic Places.

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the nation's historic places worthy of preservation. It was authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and is overseen by the National Park Service. It has three levels: local, state and national.

The Indian Agency House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, but it is on the lowest level.

The commission approved a process to acquire a grant from the state in September that will pay for a national register nomination professional who would prepare the application on behalf of the property.

The grant could be worth up to $5,500. Udelhoven said grant winners will be announced in January.

Donations

Individuals, organizations or businesses can contribute to the Indian Agency House's restoration capital campaign by using a pledge form from Indian Agency House Executive Director Destinee Udelhoven or Barbara Collings of Milwaukee, representative of the Wisconsin chapter of Colonial Dames. Udelhoven can be reached at the Agency House by calling 742-6362. Collings can be at (414) 351-6604.

kkirkpatrick@capitalnewspapers.com

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