Shearer/Christy House
This is the most outstanding example of Queen Anne architecture in Waupaca and known as one of the finest examples of the style in the State of Wisconsin. Built in 1891-1892 at the cost of $10,000 and at the height of the styles popularity it displays the full exuberance of the Queen Ann philosophy. The architect was George Otis Garnsey from Chicago, who published The National Builder. This design was published in 1885. The three-story home has an asymmetric floor plan with numerous and very elaborate details. The exterior has clapboard, wood shingle, applied stick wood, decorative barge boards, and blocked wooden panels. There is a steeply pitched cross gable roof with gable, tower and oriel projections. The tower and oriel have domed/conical roofs that are highly decorative elements of the style and add symmetry to the house. The second story features balconettes. The porch has turned posts, a frieze, and balustrade in a cutout pattern. The interior of the home is also very original. It is painted historically correct. Caleb Shearer was on of Waupaca’s most prominent lumbermen and mayor in the early 1890’s. Shearer moved away from Waupaca in 1898, leaving the home vacant and for sale until 1907, when Joseph Cristy purchased the property for $7,000. This is roughly $170,000 in 2014 dollars. Three generations of Cristy’s lived in the home from 1907-1977. The home underwent a full restoration that began in 1994.
