Tigerton mansion gets facelift

UPDATE - Tigerton Clinic is the owner of the Swanke Mansion and has underwritten the restoration costs.

Herman Swanke certainly would recognize his study in the Tigerton home he built on Cedar Street in 1920.

However, the German immigrant would only be able to see his Tigerton Lumber Company and none of the other businesses he founded, including the bank. That’s because some of the original windows in the study were blocked off as the home was renovated over the years. A recent restoration project, headed by the Tigerton Clinic, Inc.,  has reopened those windows, revealed original flooring and more.

The restoration began several months ago as an electrical upgrade, spearheaded by Aaron Damrau, clinic manager and a director for Tigerton Clinic, Inc., owner of the clinic.

The building has seen many uses over the years. It went from being a home to a bar (including a rumored house of ill repute) to a hospital to its current use as the ThedaCare Physicians-Tigerton clinic.

Swanke would also likely appreciate that the quarter-sawn oak woodwork and paneling had largely survived the multiple tenants and uses.

The original cork flooring Swanke used in the study and much the rest of the first floor still remains. Intricate tiling in what started out as a sun porch and become a dentist’s office in later years as well as other spaces in the mansion have also emerged from years covered in carpet.

Swanke would also notice the leaded window panes of the doors leading into the main part of the first floor are no longer painted over, thanks to Damrau and the restoration project.

Damrau has something of a family connection with the Swankes. He said his family emigrated from Germany on a relative’s recommendation to work for the lumber company in running some of the Swanke logging camps.

He also has a connection to the 1950-1978 hospital era, as his parents were born there during that time. Damrau himself was delivered by Dr. Beth Gillis, who practiced in Tigertonfor many years.

The electrical system had long been neglected, Damrau added, and upgrading was a long process of uncovering potentially dangerous situations. One example was finding that the wires that powered the X-ray machine from the hospital days had only been cut off and taped but were still charged. Another discovery was that all of the outlets on the first floor, which houses the clinic, were wired incorrectly, Damrau added.

They’re close to cleaning up the electrical nightmare on the first floor, which is good as the multi-month project has now been condensed into weeks as ThedaCare wants to reopen the clinic Jan. 18, Damrau said.

“That is the goal and I think we are on track for it to happen,” Damrau said.

Damrau noted the clinic’s closure during the COVID-19 pandemic and restoration is the longest the area has been without a health care facility since the hospital closed. Employees and the community are anxious to see the facility open again, Damrau said.

“It’s so critical to have a clinic in a small town,” Damrau said. He said the elderly and poor in the area often don’t have transportation even for the relatively short drive to a Clintonville clinic. That has resulted in putting off needed tests and other care, Damrau added.

Damrau has easily transferred the skills he acquired growing up on a Tigerton area dairy farm to the restoration. He combines those skills with a passion for history. Prior to taking on the Tigerton project, he was on the county historical society board, serving as secretary for five years.

Damrau said the work of many volunteers, including ThedaCare clinic employees, was awesome. There has also been a steady stream of donations from the historical society Facebook page, including a recent one from a Swanke descendant.

Dr. Jasmine Wiley, one of the ThedaCare physicians at the clinic, has been one of those dedicated volunteers, Damrau said. She is currently working to find replacements for the extensive tile flooring in the mansion, he said, as well as matching the original paint colors — including a particular glazing.

Another one of Wiley’s tasks has been to locate sinks of the proper vintage and functionality because of the overriding goal of respecting the historical aspects of the building, Damrau said.

As they’ve found molding, flooring and electrical fixtures — as well as medical equipment and furniture — stored in varying conditions in the basement, attic and other unexpected locations, they re-purpose the materials as they daily balance the needs of a functioning commercial building for ThedaCare with respecting the historical integrity of what Damrau called an architectural masterpiece.

“We’re always asking, ‘What do we restore? Where do we compromise?’” he said.

Sometimes replacing materials can be daunting, as in the case of needing birch flooring that was 1½ inches wide. They found it’s no longer made and is very rare, even from vintage materials dealers.

One example of the compromises made is the new wheelchair access ramp that met the needs of 21st century building regulations while matching the heights and widths of an early 20th century building.

The society hopes to one day list the building on the state and federal historical registries but will wait until the current restoration with its necessary accommodations for the ThedaCare clinic are completed.

wittenberg@newmedia-wi.com