The Roscius S. and Lydia R. Freeman House in River Falls: A Big-Roofed Landmark of Pharmacy, Prosperity, and Transition

A guided architectural reading of the house

What the NPS nomination says the house is

In the NRHP registration form, the property’s architectural classification is recorded broadly as Late Victorian, while the narrative describes the building more specifically as an early‑20th‑century house “built at a time of transition between architectural styles,” blending Queen Anne and Shingle Style with Colonial Revivalfeatures. [24]

It is also explicitly described as a Free Classic variation of Queen Anne—a subtype that keeps Queen Anne’s complex massing but replaces much of the spindlework with classical columns and other restrained classical cues. [25]

The site and setting: designed landscape, mature trees, and a signature vine

The house is centered on a landscaped lot with a driveway along the south side and a private walk leading from the public sidewalk to the front porch. The nomination inventories mature trees (including maple and horse chestnut in front; locust, white spruce, and pine in the rear). [17]

One of the property’s most memorable living features is the Dutchman’s pipe vine (Aristolochia macrophylla) adjacent to the south half of the front porch. The nomination says it was established along a metal arbor in the 1930s, and by 2006 it covered much of the porch face—turning architecture into a seasonal green curtain. [26]

Massing and structure: sandstone foundation, a complex hipped roof, and a conical-roofed tower

The house sits on an 18‑inch‑thick foundation built of a double course of sandstone blocks with sand fill between. It encloses a full‑height basement under the original first floor (excluding the later sleeping porch and the front porch, which have concrete footings). [27]

The roof is where the house announces its transitional personality:

The main block is covered by a moderately pitched hipped roof, which blends into a more steeply pitched hipped section extending over the front porch. [28]
A short, conical‑roofed tower sits above the porch—paired with hipped dormers that wrap the tower’s semicircular wall. [28]
The design uses hipped returns and additional roof forms at the rear (including a bay‑window shed roof and a small rear entrance porch roof), while the later sleeping porch at the northeast corner carries its own low‑pitched hipped roof. [29]

This is one reason the nomination ties the structure to Shingle Style influence: Shingle Style buildings often emphasize sweeping, continuous roof planes and unified massing more than applied ornament. [30]

Exterior surfaces: clapboards, corner boards, and “classical” porch detailing

The exterior walls are described as narrow lap siding with corner-board trim; the first floor corners include wider corner boards with recessed panels. [31]

The front porch, centered on the west façade, is a key “style‑translator” between Queen Anne exuberance and Colonial Revival restraint. The nomination describes a closed clapboard balustrade, recessed panel corner piers, and prominent porch half‑columns with classical inspiration (the nomination identifies them as Tuscan half‑columns in its interpretive discussion of style mixing). [32]

Historically, the porch changed in a way that many old-house owners will recognize: it was enclosed with screen panels shortly after construction (documented by a circa‑1910 historic photo), and later altered again with combination storm windows and a screen door during the ownership of R.W. and Gertrude Freeman. [33]

Windows: cottage groups, leaded glass, and the “graphic” edge of Prairie-era taste

The NPS nomination is unusually rich on fenestration detail. It describes:

Predominantly 1/1 double-hung windows in various sizes, with several decorative groupings that echo Queen Anne’s preference for variety. [31]
A prominent “cottage window” group at the front involving a wide rectangular bay and decorative leaded/beveled glass elements. [31]
A dining-room bay window with multiple tall narrow sashes; the upper lights combine geometric leaded patterns (including diamond and six-sided motifs). [31]
A major multi‑sash window group on the stair landing between floors that contributes strongly to interior light in the central stair hall. [34]

The basement also contains cabinetry salvaged from the Freeman Drug Store, whose cabinet doors feature Prairie Style art glass designs—a reminder that architectural style isn’t only about exterior form; it can also show up in the “portable architecture” of built-in woodwork and patterned glass. [34]

Context for Prairie-style glass: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie-era work is widely cited for transforming leaded glass into integral “light screens,” using abstract geometry and horizontal emphasis as part of an “organic” architectural whole. That broader Prairie tradition helps explain why Prairie art glass often reads as rectilinear, patterned, and modern even when installed in otherwise traditional houses. [35]

Interior planning: pocket doors, a winter “heat-saving” strategy, and a showpiece stair

The nomination describes a first floor organized around an entrance foyer, a large L‑shaped living room, and a cross hall linking key rooms. It notes original wood floors (maple and oak), plaster walls, oak trim, and a consistent set of interior doors. [36]

A particularly cinematic feature is the large pocket-door opening at the stair—used historically to close off the second floor for winter heating efficiency. The nomination details the pocket door’s unusually large size and its multi‑light upper portion with mixed clear and textured glass and leaded/beveled elements. [34]

The stair itself is treated as craftsmanship lore. The nomination records oral tradition from Symes‑family interviews claiming the staircase was so precisely fitted it was not nailed together during construction—an anecdote that emphasizes the high value placed on skilled building trades in early‑20th‑century River Falls. (As with most oral history, the precise construction method is not otherwise documented in the nomination and should be treated as tradition rather than confirmed construction fact.) [34]

Health, climate, and leisure: the sleeping porch

A one‑story sleeping porch was added at the northeast corner after the original build—constructed between the dates shown on Sanborn maps (1912 versus 1927) and recalled by an owner interview as around 1918. The porch contains multiple single-hung sash units designed to drop into wall pockets—turning the porch into a screened summer room, part of a broader early‑20th‑century culture of fresh air and seasonal living. [37]

The garage: an outbuilding with its own “mystery date”

The property includes a garage at the southeast corner. The nomination treats it as non‑contributing due to later construction and alteration: it was built between 1912 and 1927 and altered around 1936. [38]

The nomination also reports conflicting memories: one Freeman descendant recalled a 1930s build by a local contractor, while physical evidence found during 2006 repairs (newspapers/magazines dated 1936 used as insulation) supports a mid‑1930s alteration timeline. [31]

Style glossary: every architectural style named in the nomination, explained

The NRHP documentation names a wider “ecosystem” of styles in the broader neighborhood (and in Symes’ body of work), not just the Freeman House itself. Here are plain-English definitions aligned to those named terms:

Queen Anne (American, late 19th century): Typically asymmetrical, textured, and visually busy—often with towers/turrets, varied window shapes, and complex rooflines. The National Park Service characterizes Queen Anne as eclectic and often asymmetrical, with porches and varied materials. [39]

Queen Anne (Free Classic subtype): A later Queen Anne subtype that retains irregular massing but swaps spindlework for classically inspired porch elements—columns, simpler railings, and restrained ornament. Municipal preservation guides describe the Free Classic subtype as a shift toward classical elements within Queen Anne forms. [40]

Shingle Style: A distinctly American style (late 19th century) emphasizing unified surfaces and flowing forms—often with shingle cladding and strong roof shapes over ornamental detailing. SAH Archipedia summarizes it as characterized by shingle cladding over entire buildings and a preference for functionalism over “learned” historical styles; Britannica similarly describes full-building shingle coverage and a turn away from heavy historic revival eclecticism. [41]

Colonial Revival: A broad late‑19th/early‑20th‑century movement reviving and reimagining early colonial American architecture, often through classical symmetry cues, columns, and historically inspired trim. The National Park Service describes it as fueled by Americans’ interest in their own history; PHMC describes it as looking back particularly to Georgian and Federal precedent. [42]

Craftsman: A turn‑of‑the‑20th‑century American expression of Arts & Crafts ideals—favoring honest materials, visible structure, and handcraft aesthetics; common exterior cues include low‑pitched gables, wide eaves, exposed rafters, and tapered porch posts. The PHMC frames the style as inspired by the English Arts & Crafts movement and developing strongly in early‑20th‑century America; Wisconsin municipal style guides summarize typical roof/porch features. [43]

Bungalow: Often a one‑ to one‑and‑a‑half‑story house type closely linked to Craftsman aesthetics—valued historically as comfortable, efficient housing with prominent porches and integrated indoor‑outdoor living. (In many preservation taxonomies, “Bungalow/Craftsman” is treated as a combined category.) [44]

American Foursquare (American Four-Square): Common early‑20th‑century house form—often boxy and efficient—with stylistic detailing borrowed from Craftsman, Colonial Revival, or other styles. In preservation writing, it is frequently described as a vernacular form that can carry multiple stylistic “skins.” [45]

Tudor Revival: An eclectic early‑20th‑century revival drawing loosely from medieval English traditions—often emphasizing picturesque massing and historicist references (half‑timbering, steep gables, etc.). PHMC calls it an eclectic mixture of early and medieval English building traditions and notes “Tudor” is something of a misnomer because it does not strictly follow early‑16th‑century Tudor forms. [46]

Front-gabled / Gable-front (vernacular form): A folk-architecture house type where the gable end faces the street—common in many U.S. towns and adaptable to multiple decorative styles. Pennsylvania’s historic preservation guidance describes the Gable Front House as a vernacular version related to Greek Revival precedent, with the prominent front façade gable as defining. [47]

Gabled Ell / Gable-front-and-wing (vernacular form): A related vernacular form adding a side wing to create an L-shape; Washington state preservation guidance describes the “Upright-and-Wing” / gable-front-and-wing type as two gabled wings set at right angles, producing L- or T-plan layouts. [48]

Prairie Style (and Prairie art glass): The Prairie School is associated with Frank Lloyd Wright and contemporaries; it emphasizes horizontality, integration with landscape, and geometric abstraction. For glass, Wright’s Prairie work is known for intricate leaded patterns conceived as integral to architectural design. [49]

Mission Style (as referenced by the house’s lighting and Arts & Crafts décor language): In American design, “Mission” commonly refers to an Arts & Crafts–era aesthetic emphasizing simplicity of materials and form; Britannica describes Mission style as a turn‑of‑the‑20th‑century furniture/design type characterized by simplicity and linked to Arts & Crafts leadership in the U.S. (notably Gustav Stickley). [50]

What’s unspecified: the NRHP nomination lists additional neighborhood styles (e.g., Craftsman, Tudor, American Foursquare, Front Gabled, Gabled Ell), but it does not claim the Freeman House itself is a full example of each—rather, it situates the house among a district where those forms and styles appear. [51]