A home listed on the Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory was demolished Friday in Oconto, after state historical experts and the Department of Natural Resources gave Oconto County officials the go-ahead to proceed.
The Antoine Martineau Home, 619 Park Ave., Oconto, is one of 14 properties the county purchased north of the courthouse where a new law enforcement center will be constructed. Demolition of the north block homes began May 4 and is scheduled to be completed June 30, with LEC construction scheduled to begin in a month later.
The Martineau home was not listed on the state’s historic register, and its condition had been described as nearly condemnable. Still, the DNR required an architectural historian evaluate the Queen Anne-style home and consider its impact on history before the home could be demolished.
Administrative Coordinator Kevin Hamann said the county submitted photos and documents to the Wisconsin State Historical Society and was granted a release, then presented the same information to the DNR, which also granted its release.
“As soon as we go the permit, we started to demolish it,” he said.
Online historic records describe Antoine M. Martineau as a leading merchant in Oconto, head of the Goodrich and Martineau Company and president of the Farmer’s Bank. He was born in 1858 and died of heart trouble in 1917.
According to his obituary, “He had lived here practically his whole life and from the time he reached a sufficient age, had been active engaged in the business life of the city and in all movements tending to its development and that of the entire northeastern portion of the state.”
A parking lot is proposed where the home was located.
