Historic Springbrook Home Marks 100 Years with Four-Year Restoration

WASHBURN COUNTY — One of Springbrook’s old houses is experiencing a breath of new life on its 100-year anniversary as it nears the end of a four-year-long restoration project. The house will begin welcoming guests as a vacation rental early this fall.

Located on Legion Lane — which hosts one of Springbrook’s two canoe landings on the Namekagon River — the Craftsman Bungalow style house is nestled in Wisconsin’s Northwoods, which sports the region’s well-known outdoor recreation and quiet natural beauty.

“The house was almost too far gone when we bought it,” said Joshua Schloneger, the home’s new owner. “The leak in the roof had ruined one half of the house. We had to remove the entire south wall along with the floor joists that were under the house’s original wood floor in the living room and dining room.”

The remainder of the house had to be stripped down to the bones before restoration could begin. The renovation uncovered clues to the home’s history.

“We are dating the house as being built in 1926 because, as we tore out the walls, we found dozens of old magazines and newspapers dated from January to March of that year,” Schloneger explained.

Included in the papers were Washburn County Register, People Popular Monthly, and Sears, Roebuck, and Co. catalogs. The papers were used as insulation, mainly around the door jambs.

The public is invited to tour the restored home during an open house Sunday, September 6, from 4–7 p.m.