On March 25th, BHS members approved the sale of the Hanchett-Bartlett homestead.

Thanks to reporter and BHS member, Deb Jensen-De Hart, for her great reporting on the sale of the Hanchett-Bartlett homestead. Read all about it in her story in the Beloit Daily News.

"Votes to sell the Hanchett-Barlett Homestead totaled 153 in favor and just two against when the numbers were tallied at a special meeting of the membership Monday. Eleven votes were cast at the meeting and the rest came in by proxy via mailed in documents. If all goes according to plan, the closing date for the property sale will be May 31, said Rick Dexter, Beloit Historical Society Board of Directors President."

The new owner, Andrew Logan of Fort Atkinson, has much experience with restoring and living in 19th Century homes, from childhood to today. He said, "I am very excited to be just the third family to live there."

And now we start the big job of moving the Daisy Chapin Schoolhouse, and the contents of the barn and home to the Lincoln Center, as well as other public museums in the area.

BACKGROUND: After many years of study and debate, we made the difficult decision to sell the Hanchett-Bartlett Homestead. This heart-breaking choice follows a process begun in 2017, concluding with a comprehensive feasibility study in 2022, followed by a formal "request for proposals" in 2023.

A Brief History of the Hanchett-Bartlett Homestead

The Hanchett-Bartlett Homestead is a 1857 Victorian farmstead located at 2149 St. Lawrence Ave. in Beloit. The historic site features the home of James Hanchett, a pioneer contractor and builder of dams, who came to Beloit in 1840. He built dams in Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin, including the first dam across the Rock River at Beloit in 1844.

In 1857 he built this home of locally quarried limestone for his wife and ten children. The house, a transitional Greek revival-Italianate style, is restored in its period colors and contains furnishings of 1850-1885. The site includes the original stone barn and smokehouse, with a restored rural schoolhouse moved to the site from east of Beloit.

The Herrick Bartlett family acquired the property in 1901. Of their nine children three daughters, Mary, Edith and Etta, became doctors. In 1962 the Bartlett sisters deeded their home to the Beloit Historical Society, and in 1977 the Hanchett-Bartlett Homestead was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.