Okauchee House

The Okauchee House, a fine example of Greek Revival architecture, is one of only a handful of intact stagecoach inns remaining in the State of Wisconsin. It is a visible reminder of an early transportation era; the days of the plank road and the heyday of the stagecoach in the rapidly developing Midwestern frontier. As far as is known, its construction of laid-up horizontal planks is unique in the State of Wisconsin.

Located in the unincorporated Village of Okauchee, the inn was built in 1850 on the newly constructed Watertown Plank Road. The plank road was the longest such road constructed in Wisconsin, and linked the City of Milwaukee with the City of Watertown. The plank road facilitated the transport of goods, primarily wheat, to the port of Milwaukee. Travelers also used the Okauchee House as a stopping point in their journeys to the western part of the State of Wisconsin and beyond.

The Okauchee House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in America (NRHP), is listed in the Historic American Building Survey (HABS), and the Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places. Check the Links section of the website to read more details about the Okauchee House. The HABS website is especially interesting because it contains measured exterior and interior floor plans of the Okauchee House that were drawn in 1936.

The Okauchee House is currently undergoing a major exterior and interior restoration. It is a pleasure for its owners, Mary and Jim Nowakowski, to see the inn once again become the centerpiece of the village. It is a private residence, and we ask that you respect their privacy.