Cornelius House
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History of the Cornelius House!

Information about Charles Cornelius - Builder & Owner of The Cornelius Home

Charles Cornelius was born on a pioneer
farm in Grandville Township, Ozaukee
County, Wis., on January 4, 1854.
As a small boy he traveled with his parents
Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Cornelius to
Sheboygan County and there he grew to
man-hood on a farm along the banks of the
Sheboygan River.

As a young man, he clerked in a store in
Glenbeulah and took up the business of
selling pianos, organs and machinery.

The Maple Works Store:
In 1876, Charles Cornelius decided he
would relocate. Buying a train ticket, he went
northward on the train, getting off at
Marshfield. He walked from there, westward
through the wilderness, to Maple Works (now
Granton). There, he purchased a store and
took an active part in building up the
community. Being a good businessman, his
business grew and branched out in various
lines. He soon became widely known
throughout the county.

On September 9, 1886, Charles Cornelius
was married in Maple Works to Theresa
Nitzche. They had one daughter, Lydia.
In 1887, he sold his Maple Works store and
moved to Neillsville, engaging in the
machinery business.
In 1896, he was elected Register of Deeds
of Clark County and was re-elected to that
position three times.

For a number of years, Charles Cornelius
had been investing in real estate, a wise
investment in a growing settlement.
In 1904, he resigned from the Register of
Deeds office so that he could devote full-
time attention to his various holdings.
In 1907, he and his family moved to Boston,
where they lived for about two years, to give
their daughter the advantage of special
music instruction. Charles Cornelius took an
advanced course in commercial and finance
in the Boston Commercial College to
prepare himself for the banking business.

The First Financal Bank - Neillsville, Wisconsin:
On Charles Cornelius' return to Neillsville in
1909, he purchased the lot on the corner of
5th and Hewett where he erected a building
and proceeded to organize the First National
Bank. He was the bank president upon its
founding and was active in promoting its
interests. He also helped with organizing
other banks, as well as other lines
of business.
Charles Cornelius helped in organizing the
Farmers and Merchants Bank at Greenwood
and was its president. He aided in
organizing the Farmers Exchange Bank at
Thorp, was a stockholder and director in
several banks in St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Besides extensive holdings of timberland in
the West, he was also president of the
Wisconsin-Louisiana Land Co. with large
holdings in the South. Through him, many of
his old friends and neighbors were enabled
to make profitable investments. He had a
great business mind and ability.

The Cornelius House:
In early life, Charles Cornelius had known toil
and sacrifice and yet through life, he had
acquired a love for beauty. To satisfy
his longings for these things, he built a
beautiful large home and took great pleasure
in beautifying it and its grounds.

The house was built on the northeast corner
of the Cornelius block, 2nd and Clay.
The large, 3-story home featured a ballroom
on the second floor which was used for
entertaining guests and on occasions, a
band would be obtained so that the guests
could enjoy dancing. The entire block was
edged with a hedge, interspersed with elm
and maple trees. The only other house in that
block square was a 2-story brick structure on
the southwest corner.

The block was sometimes referred to as the
Cornelius Park. Behind the outlining hedge,
was a beautiful formal garden with a fountain
in the center. The lawn and gardens were
enjoyed by guests as well as the family with
a leisure stroll or a game of croquet.

A large livery barn with living quarters for the
caretaker was erected behind the house with
a driveway circling to the street. The house
and barn are there still and as you pass it,
you can imagine the elegance that went with
it, years ago.

Coming from a comparative poverty of youth
to a considerable degree of wealth, seemed
not to change his character. He enjoyed the
youth and helped the community that he lived
in, when he saw a need.

Cornelius died in December, 1918.

The Hubing Apartments
The home was then purchased in 1947 by
Mr. and Mrs. George Hubing. This home was
later "The Hubing Apartments"

Lowe Funeral Home
Herbert "Tubby" Lowe, a Neillsville High
School graduate and life-long resident,
purchased the Charles Cornelius home on
the corner of Clay and Second Street where
he developed and operated the
"Lowe Funeral Home" business for a
number of years.

The Clay Street Apartments
Again in 2007 the home was purchased.
Then continued as apartments still today (2010)

Home of the Moseid
Again in 2011 the home was purchased by
Kai and Wynn Moseid of Illinois were they
are actively renovating the apartment
building back into a family home where
the Moseid family will remain to live in
Neillsville.

As of 2012, the home has been remodeled
into their family home still with a large
single apartment above the family home at
the top of the original cornelius house.
The family is renovating the home with great
pride to bring back the original Cornelius
Home design with a touch of their own special
blend.