This 1860 building was first built to house horses and carriages but today has been rehabilitated to provide housing. Learn more below about the unique history of this important building.
Photo Courtesy of Jefferson County Library Lemen Collection
Originally one of ten livery stables in 1860 Madison, horses and carriages were stored below and the stablemaster lived above. This building served two stablemasters and was in operation from 1861-1909 as a dual-purpose building housing both the stablemaster and horses and carriages. After 1909, it has undergone many changes in both appearance and purpose. Keep reading for more information on these changes.
Martin Mullen, the first stablemaster, owned the livery from 1861 until his death in 1891. Mr. Mullen's 30 year career as a stablemaster was not without its challenges. In 1871, the local newspaper reported "Snow crushes roof of M. Mullen's Livery on Broadway." The second livery proprietor, Frank Hill, owned the building from 1892-1909.
Big Changes
Momentous changes were occurring in how Americans travelled in the first part of the twentieth century. Henry Ford introduced the Model N Motorcar, the first car the majority of Americans could afford, in 1909. In 1913, Ford opened the first car manufacturing facility with an assembly line. Recognizing the rapid changes in transportation as people in Madison shifted from horse and buggy transportation to motorized vehicles, Frank and Marguerite Hill sold 310 Broadway to John and Florence Feuersten. Frank Hill's Livery became Feuersten and Jones' Garage.
As motorized vehicles became more prevalent, Elmer and Lula Brown saw an opportunity and purchased the building, transforming it into The Broadway Garage and Transfer Station in 1939. In this era, a transfer station was an early form of a moving company.
Change came again to this building when in 1947 it became Thompson's
Glass Dairy. From 1947 to 1957, Thompson's milk in glass bottles were delivered in big blue trucks to front porches all over Madison. Some people in Madison still remember when fresh milk was delivered by a milkman.
The property then passed to the Koehler family in 1957. Several generations of Koehler's owned the building until 2006. Part of the building was storage for the Koehler Tire business and part was rented out. For a time, Frank Mingione had a plastics manufacturing business here.
After the Koehlers, 310 Broadway was a furniture making workshop and then an artists' studio, but in 2018, Ronald and Suzanne Hollinger purchased the building with plans to rehabilitate the building into residential housing space. The Hollingers have transformed this industrial space into stylish apartments. The garage at the rear of the building is their open living and entertaining space complete with an air-conditioned vintage camper. They are dedicated to honoring the history of the building by using the stablemaster theme throughout the property.
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