Henry SherryThe Henry Sherry House was built for and first owned by Henry M. Sherry. Sherry lived in the house with his wife, Abbie Paddock Sherry, and his son, Edward P. Sherry.
The house was designed by William Waters. Waters was born in New York in 1843, and he attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Shortly after, Waters moved to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where he lived for the rest of his life. Waters was a generous and well-respected man within the community. He designed over 150 buildings before he died in December of 1917. Henry Sherry was born on August 3, 1837, in East Mendon, New York. In 1849, the Hugh Sherry family (Henry's father, mother and siblings) moved to Neenah, Wisconsin to pursue business interests in the milling industry. Henry remained in Neenah for the rest of his life, taking over his father's business and overseeing family holdings when his father moved to Minnesota. Henry also diversified his business dealings and became Neenah's most prominent lumberman. Sherry married Abbie Paddock of Ripon on May 2, 1865. Six years later, the couple had a son, Edward P. Sherry, born on April 12. Edward later attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison, graduating in 1892, and entered the family business soon after. By the 1870's, Sherry was operating one of the largest lumber businesses in Wisconsin. He also owned saw and shingle mills. In the following decade, Sherry continued to grow his businesses, acquiring land in the Flambeau River region, buying a saw mill and dam and gaining water rights at Park Falls, and securing rail services. When the Park Falls Lumber and Pulp Company, later renamed the Park Falls Lumber Company, was established in 1890, Sherry bought over 200 shares, becoming a top stock holder. In 1895, the Park Falls Paper and Pulp Company was formed, supported in stocks equally owned by Sherry and C. W. Howard. However, within six months of the company's opening, Howard left the company, leaving Sherry the main stock holder and in control of the company. During the Depression of 1897, Sherry and his family lost significant amounts of money resulting in Sherry filing for bankruptcy for $1 million. Though Sherry's businesses had been greatly damaged, he began rebuilding his wealth at the first opportunity. In 1898, the Park Falls Paper and Pulp Company was reopened, as was the Flambeau Paper Company. Sherry also continued investing in businesses, such as the Winnebago Realty Company and the Wisconsin Realty Company in 1899, both of which Sherry owned a substantial amount of shares. After the bankruptcy, though Sherry remained involved in the business, Edward Sherry began taking over his father's business. In addition to being a successful businessman, Henry Sherry was involved in several community matters and was an influential citizen within the community. Sherry supported community organizations and was elected to the first board of directors of the Manufacturers' National Bank of Neenah, formed in 1881. In 1886, in an attempt to broaden Neenah's industrial base, most of the leadership of the community organized the Neenah Boot & Shoe Manufacturing Company. Sherry bought stock in and supported the company almost immediately after its creation. Additionally, Sherry was responsible for a respectable chunk of Neenah's residential and commercial development. He sold land to the city of Neenah for the establishment of Riverside Park. Henry Sherry died on November 7, 1919. His widow continued to live in the house until 1923. |
Other OwnersIn 1923, the Henry Sherry House was bought by Hugh and Carolyn Strange. Strange was the president of the Strange Paper Company in Menasha. After his death in 1945, his wife continued to reside in the home.
In 1948, Norman Brown bought the Sherry House. Ten years later, the house was vacant for several years. Then, William F. Allen bought the home in 1961. He owned the home for a short period of time until Gilbert Dementis bought the house in 1964. During Dementis' ownership of the house in the early 1970s, there was a fire on the house's west side. The fire started in the kitchen and spread throughout the house. Many rooms were completely ruined, but a closed door kept the fire from spreading to the front of the house. Today, this charred door still remains in the house. In 1979, Bruce Heyl was the owner of the Sherry House. He resided in the home until 1984 when Thomas Newby moved into the house. Newby was an avid art collector and displayed his collection throughout the house. The Sherry House was purchased by Drs. Steve and Kathy Price in 1993. Dr. Steve Price is a neurologist, and Dr. Kathy Price is an emergency medicine physician. In 1999, the Prices worked to add the home to the State and Historical Registers of Historic Places. They succeeded on December 22, 1999. In 2003, the Prices sold the Sherry House to Dr. Eric Eberts. Dr. Eberts is an OB/GYN. The house was vacant for about a year in 2004, before it was purchased in 2005 by Dr. Tammy Hilbert, who is also an OB/GYN. The present owners of the Henry Sherry House are Dr. James Pellegrini and Dr. Susan Sung. They purchased the home in 2007. Both are radiologists. Architectural AttributesThe Henry Sherry House is a two story house with an attic and four bedrooms. It was built with an Eclectic architectural style. This means it combines Gothic, Queen Anne, Victorian, and Italianate elements. It has full working electricity and a brick structure. The house holds numerous outstanding characteristics, such as its ornamented wood work both inside and out. Each room is furnished with a different kind of wood. In addition, the house has a fourth story tower with a Mansard roof, Gothic gabled dormers, and 12 roman style arched windows (three on each face of the tower). More architectural marvels include a ninety degree rotated chimney in the attic, real copper eave spouts, real slate shingles on the roof, and a fireplace several bedrooms. Many of the bedrooms also have their own sinks. Many of the more recent owners have completed renovations. The most obvious change can be seen on the outside of the house. In 1993, the exterior of the house was painted gray and yellow. The Price's restored the original color scheme of the house and painted the exterior red and green. The Pellegrini's sandblasted the brick exterior, and it is now a much brighter yellow.
Works CitedAdams, Peter J. "Sherry House Received National Honor." Menasha Register3 Apr. 2002: 2-3. Print.
"An American Downton Abbey: The Millionaires." An American Downton Abbey: The Millionaires. Web. 26 May 2015. "Archival Resources in Wisconsin: Descriptive Finding Aids." Home. UWDC, n.d. Web. 26 May 2015. "History of Park Falls, Wisconsin PF1-8." History of Park Falls, Wisconsin PF1-8. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2015. Neenah Directories. Oshkosh Landmarks Commission. Guide to William Waters' Work in Oshkosh. Oshkosh Landmarks Commission. Print. Pellegrini, James, Dr. "527 E. Wisconsin Ave, An Interview with Dr. Pellegrini." Personal interview. 16 May 2016. Price, Steve, Dr., and Kathy Price, Dr. "An Interview with the Prices." Personal interview. 30 May 2016. "Strange, Hugh M." Wisconsin Historical Society. Web. 25 May 2016. "Wisconsin Historical Markers." : Henry Sherry House. Web. 29 May 2015. <http://wisconsinhistoricalmarkers.blogspot.com/2012/07/henry-sherry-house.html>. "Wisconsin Historical Society." 527 E WISCONSIN ST. Web. 29 May 2015. |