Appleton Wire Works

Built in 1896. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

From the record

“Appleton Wire Works was a paper manufacturing facility in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States. It was the first wire cloth company in the Midwest, founded by William Buchanan, Gustavas E.”
Wikipedia article Appleton Wire Works, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 51 National Register listings published here for Outagamie County · listed in 2008 · category: Building · built in 1896.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
Address. 600 S. Atlantic St., Appleton, 54911
When was it listed? September 2008
Category. building
City. Appleton city
When was it built? 1896
National Register reference number. 82005123 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

29 since 2018

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 29 fires within 5 miles of Appleton Wire Works between 2018 and 2020, burning about 17 acres in total. None started naturally. 3 were 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	17
Smoking	4
Debris and open burning	3
Arson/incendiarism	3
Fireworks	1
Equipment and vehicle use	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
15 August 2020	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	20CL029
1 August 2018	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	AP00565
7 July 2018	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1.0 acres	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	AP00199
6 July 2018	Fireworks	under an acre	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	9000084
3 July 2020	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1.0 acres	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	1386
25 July 2018	Smoking	1.0 acres	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	18BU001
15 July 2018	Arson/incendiarism	1.0 acres	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	CF00059
25 June 2018	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	5000049

Every fire recorded in Outagamie County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 10 workings within 5 miles of Appleton Wire Works: 5 past producers, 2 producers, 2 unknowns, 1 plant. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Stone, Perlite. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status
Midwest Perlite Co.	Perlite	Plant
Own Crews	Stone	Unknown
Badger Highway Menasha Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Curtiss Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
Monnot Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Kurey Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Mccarthy Road Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
R Evers Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Van Handel Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Van Handel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Unknown

Every working recorded in Outagamie County

Storms near this property

60 of 106 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Appleton, the town this property stands in, in 106 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 47 hail, 45 thunderstorm wind, 4 flood, 4 heavy rain. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. 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
July 2010	Hail	Appleton	$6,200,000	Golf ball size hail near Appleton damaged nearly 1,000 vehicles and at least 200 homes. Many of the homes sustained significant damage as the hail damaged roofs and siding.
June 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	$3,500,000	no account filed
September 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	$1,100,000	no account filed
July 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	$100,000	no account filed
July 2013	Heavy Rain	Appleton	$98,500	Heavy rain fell in Appleton during the early morning of June 8th, mainly between 0315CST and 0700CST. The 24-hour rainfall total ending at 0600CST was 2.35 inches. The weight of the rainwater caused the roof of a building to collapse around 0900CST. The collapse caused a gas leak, and the Appleton building inspector declared 3 buildings uninhabitable while contractors examined the damage.
July 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	$40,000	Thunderstorm winds uprooted 2 trees and damaged a house in Appleton.
June 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	$14,000	no account filed
July 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	$10,000	High winds from thunderstorms knocked a large tree onto a garage, blew lawn furniture from a yard and damaged a storefront.
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	$4,000	no account filed
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	$3,000	no account filed
July 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	$3,000	no account filed
June 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	$1,000	no account filed
May 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	-	Thunderstorm winds downed trees and power lines in Appleton. The time of this report is an estimate based on radar data.
August 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	-	Thunderstorm winds downed trees and power lines in Appleton. The time of this report is an estimate based on radar data.
April 2022	Hail	Appleton	-	Penny size hail fell near Appleton.
July 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	-	Thunderstorm winds downed numerous trees on the southwest side of Appleton. The time of this report is an estimate based on radar data.
July 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	-	Thunderstorms produced a wind gust to 59 mph on the northwest side of Appleton.
June 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	-	Thunderstorm winds snapped trees and power lines in Appleton. The time of this report is an estimate based on radar data.
June 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	-	Thunderstorm winds downed multiple trees and powerlines in Appleton. The time of this report is an estimate based on radar data.
June 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	-	Thunderstorm winds produced a wind gust to 59 mph at the Appleton airport.
June 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	-	Thunderstorm winds downed trees and powerlines in Appleton. The time of this report is an estimate based on radar data.
June 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	-	Thunderstorms produced a wind gust to 72 mph on the west side of Appleton.
June 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	-	Thunderstorm winds downed trees and power lines in Appleton. The time of this report is an estimate based on radar data.
June 2021	Hail	Appleton	-	Penny size hail fell in Appleton.
September 2021	Hail	Appleton	-	Quarter size hail fell just north of Appleton. The time of this event is an estimate based on radar data.
September 2021	Hail	Appleton	-	Lime size hail fell north of Appleton. The time of this event is an estimate based on radar data.
September 2021	Hail	Appleton	-	Ping pong size hail fell north of Appleton. The time of this event is an estimate based on radar data.
July 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	-	Thunderstorm winds downed trees and power lines in Appleton. The time of this event is an estimate based on radar data.
June 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	-	Thunderstorm winds downed a few trees near Appleton.
July 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	-	Thunderstorm winds downed some road signs along Highway 441 and a couple of other locations, bent a power pole near I-41 and Ballard Road, and caused tree damage in the northeast part of Appleton.
July 2019	Hail	Appleton	-	Nickel size hail fell in Appleton.
July 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	-	A thunderstorm wind gust of 67 mph was measured on the west side of Appleton at Perkins Street and College Avenue.
August 2019	Hail	Appleton	-	Nickel size hail fell in Appleton.
August 2019	Hail	Appleton	-	Quarter size hail fell in Appleton.
August 2019	Hail	Appleton	-	Quarter size hail fell in Appleton.
July 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	-	Thunderstorm winds downed trees west of Appleton.
July 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	-	Thunderstorm winds downed many tree limbs near the 300 block of South Buchanan Street in Appleton.
August 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	-	Thunderstorm winds downed trees in Appleton. The time of this report was estimated based on radar data.
June 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	-	Thunderstorm winds downed large trees on the south and east sides of Appleton.
August 2017	Hail	Appleton	-	Hail, up to quarter size, fell in Grand Chute.
June 2015	Heavy Rain	Appleton	-	Heavy rain caused minor street flooding at numerous locations in and around Appleton.
December 2015	Heavy Rain	Appleton	-	Several rounds of heavy rainfall across Outagamie County produced 3.74 inches of rain in Appleton. Runoff from the rainfall resulting in water collecting in low-lying areas.
July 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	-	Thunderstorm winds downed trees and power lines in Appleton.
August 2014	Hail	Appleton	-	Nickel size hail fell near the intersection of College Avenue and U.S. Highway 41 in the Appleton area.
June 2014	Heavy Rain	Appleton	-	Heavy rainfall from thunderstorms caused street flooding in Black Creek, at the intersection Main Street and Oak Street.
June 2013	Hail	Appleton	-	Thunderstorms produced penny size hail at College Avenue and Lynndale Drive in Appleton.
June 2013	Hail	Appleton	-	Thunderstorms produced quarter size hail at College Avenue and Matthias Street in Appleton.
June 2013	Hail	Appleton	-	Thunderstorms produced walnut size hail in Appleton.
June 2013	Hail	Appleton	-	Thunderstorms produced quarter size hail at Wisconsin Avenue and Mason Street in Appleton.
June 2013	Hail	Appleton	-	Thunderstorms produced quarter size hail in Appleton.
June 2013	Hail	Appleton	-	Penny size hail fell in Appleton.
June 2013	Hail	Appleton	-	A thunderstorm produced quarter size hail at the Fox River Mall in the Town of Grand Chute.
June 2013	Hail	Appleton	-	Thunderstorms produced quarter size hail in Appleton.
June 2013	Hail	Appleton	-	Thunderstorms produced hail that was slightly smaller than tennis ball size as they passed through Appleton. The time of this event is estimated based on radar data.
August 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	-	A measured wind gust of 67 mph was reported at Lawrence University, in the city of Appleton.
June 2013	Hail	Appleton	-	Thunderstorms produced walnut size hail at Appleton Medical Central and near the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and Mason Street.
May 2012	Hail	Appleton	-	Penny size hail and heavy rain fell in the Town of Grand Chute, northwest of Appleton.
July 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	-	Thunderstorms winds downed trees and power lines across Appleton east to Kaukauna. The time of this event was estimated based on radar data.
August 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	-	Thunderstorm winds produced a wind gust of 58 mph in the town of Grand Chute.
April 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Appleton	-	Thunderstorms southeast of Appleton produced a measured wind gust of 60 mph.

Every storm recorded in Outagamie County

Map coverage status

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.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
Appleton City Park Historic District	0.2 miles	2002
Temple Zion and School	0.3 miles	1978
Zion Lutheran Church	0.4 miles	1986
St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church	0.4 miles	2008
Masonic Temple	0.5 miles	1985
Main Hall, Lawrence University	0.5 miles	1974

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 82005123 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Outagamie County	All 51 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.