This beautiful Italianate brick house was built in 1885 by Abijah S. Davis, who emigrated to Dane County, Wisconsin, from Leeds, Upper Canada, in 1841. With the discovery of California gold in 1849, Davis joined the Forty-Niners in the gold rush that followed. Having secured his fortune in mining, Davis returned to Wisconsin, settling in Bear Valley where he took up farming and cheese-making until his death in 1895. The house remained in the Davis family until 1957 and has been sold only three times since. The present owners purchased the property in 1981. The house itself is an impressive edifice, especially since it was built in an era before power tools and other modern construction methods. With walls three courses of brick thick, it is set over a full basement upon a massive field stone foundation. In the 133 years since its completion, it has not settled anywhere, and one can put a level against any horizontal or vertical surface and not break a bubble. What an architectural and historical gem!
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