In September of 1873 James Monroe Bingham, a local attorney, State Assemblyman, and future lieutenant governor of the State of Wisconsin, purchased this land which had just been plotted as Block 14 of the Western Addition to the City of Chippewa Falls for $2,500. Bingham immediately began construction of a house completing the original structure in 1874 at a cost of $7,600.
Bingham died in January 1885, but his wife continued to live in the house until August 1887 when the property was sold to lumber man Edward Rutledge and his wife Hannah for $5,500. The home you see today is the result of the Rutledge's extensive remodeling and additions.
After Hannah died in 1910 and Edward in 1911, the house was empty for a time while a lengthy search of heirs was conducted. The mansion was then bought by the Frederick Weyerhaeuser Company for $10,000 in 1914. They sold it to Christoper Sundet of Chippewa Falls in 1915, who subdivided the southern half of the block into eight residential lots. That same year, Sundet sold the mansion to Dayton E. Cook, a prominent local attorney, who later served many years as county judge.
The Cook family owned and lived in the home from 1915 until 1973 when daughter Mabel Cook sold the mansion to the Chippewa County Historical Society.
Recognizing its historical significance and High Victorian-Italianate style architecture, the Mansion was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
Chippewa County Historical Society
Marker Sign #14
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