Built in 1877 (Italianate architecture). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
One of 36 National Register listings published here for Grant County · listed in 1976 · category: Building · built in 1877, Italianate architecture.
Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article
An account from the chapter on Bloomington village. The inset identifies its exact source book and publication year.
For nearly forty-five years Blooeqiugton existed as a village with¬ out a house being burned - a remarkable record. The Finn building caught fire three times, but each tune the .fire was discovered in time to he extinguished without serious damage. But at last, on the night of March 22, 1897, what everybody had been expecting for thirty years happened, and two-thirds of the business part of the vil¬ lage was swept away in .a night.
The chapter on Bloomington Village in History of Grant County Wisconsin, published 1900 names Bloomington. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
Bnt while the village was thus flourishing, trouble befell its found¬ er, D. W. Taft. Getting into financial difficulties, the mill property fell into the hands of the mortgagee, Cyrus Sargent, who soon after transferred it to Woodhouse & Thomas. A good many of the villagers had become unfriendly to Mr. Taft and through their influence the name of the village, township, and post-office was changed to Bloom¬ ington in 1867. The change in the name of the town and the village was made by the legislature. Before this the village had been divided into factions on the academy matter, and now one faction espoused the cause of Taft and Tafton and the others that of Bloomington. The County Board was petitioned to change the name back to Tafton, and at its annual session in November, 1867, the Board ordered a special election to determine the matter ; bnt if the town neglected to hold such election, then the name should be changed to Tafton. Such election was held and the name Bloomington received 143 votes and the name Tafton 96 votes.
Passage source: History of Grant County Wisconsin, published 1900.
Bloomington has not suffered as many of these as most towns. The fint one was an explosion in the store of Benham & Osborne, in February, 1857. Mr. J. F. Benham was about to measure out some machine oil and took a can which he supposed to contain oil and placed it on the stove to warm it. It proved to contain powder, which exploded. The front of the store was blown out and the build¬ ing otherwise damaged. Mr. Benham was knocked senseless, and was badly burned and the sight of one eye destroyed. The next accident was less serious. A donation party was held in the building just across the street from the hotel January 31, 1857. The floor on which the party was assembled gave way, precipitating them all into the basement, where the supper table was set. The supper was worse damaged than any of the party. One lady put her foot into a large piece of butter whose elaborate molding had called forth a good deal of admiration before the accident, and another landed (if landed is the appropriate word) in a wash-boiler full of oyster soup.
Passage source: History of Grant County Wisconsin, published 1900.
Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.
Read the whole chapter on Bloomington Village - 5,431 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of James Ballantine House between 2018 and 2020, burning about 2 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 1 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 June 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 12A2020 |
| 28 March 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 10A2019 |
| 18 March 2018 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 5 |
| 5 February 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 01A2019 |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of James Ballantine House: 2 unknowns, 2 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Stone. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finn Quarry | Stone | Unknown | ||
| Kirschbaum Quarry | Stone | Unknown | ||
| Charlie White Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Ulehoven Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Zenz Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bloomington, the town this property stands in, in 11 storm reports between 1999 and 2022: 4 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 2 flash flood, 1 lightning. The reports record 1 death. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2001 | Lightning | Bloomington | 1 killed | no account filed |
| September 2019 | Flash Flood | Bloomington | $900,000 | Runoff from heavy rains caused flash flooding to occur across the northwest portion of Grant County. Nearly every township road was closed because of flood damage across Wyalusing, Millville and Woodman townships. Roads were also closed in and near Fennimore. Water over the road, debris on the road and mudslides affected U.S. Highway 61 for about 5 miles south of Boscobel. |
| May 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | $8,000 | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | $5,000 | Trees and power lines were blown down near Bloomington. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | $500 | Trees were blown down onto Highway 35 and blocked traffic. |
| July 2022 | Funnel Cloud | Bloomington | - | A funnel cloud was sighted near Bloomington. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | - | An estimated 60 mph wind gust occurred in Bloomington. |
| July 2016 | Flash Flood | Bloomington | - | Locally heavy rains caused most creeks in and near Bloomington to go out of their banks. |
| June 2015 | Hail | Bloomington | - | no account filed |
| June 2011 | Hail | Bloomington | - | no account filed |
| May 1999 | Hail | Bloomington | - | no account filed |
No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 76000062 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Grant County | All 36 listed properties in this county. |
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