William B. Tufts was born in Withee, Wisconsin, in 1899.
At the time his father William S. Tufts was the sheriff of
Clark County and their residence would have been the
Victorian home within the 1897 Clark County Jail building.
William enlisted in the Navy in 1917 becoming an
instructor at the naval aviation school at Great Lakes
Illinois. In April of 1931 Jennie and William Tufts returned
to Neillsville with William becoming the manager of the
Lynn Mutual Insurance Co. In 1934 the Tufts built their
Spanish Eclectic house, a rare northern architectural
style that is most commonly found in the Southwest.
Steeped in Spanish architectural traditions the house
exhibits an arched entry with arched balcony above, a
welcoming arcaded covered porch, fired clay tile roof and
decorative grille work. The structure is surfaced in Click on image to enlarge
traditional stucco. William B. Tufts would be called to
duty once again during WWII when he was assigned to General Douglas McArthur's headquarters in the South Pacific. EL
EL – The structure is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places
LR – The structure is on the Local Historic Register
NR – The structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
