The term historic simply means something deemed important, dating from a past time or culture. And every entity that exists has the right to decide what the term historic means to it.

Individuals and families keep, preserve, and pass down photos and memorabilia and stories from past generations to the present. Organizations and businesses share their origin stories with new members to demonstrate how they got to where they are today.

And so too is it with larger communities. Cities generally have a governing body that is tasked with preserving the history of an area, for current and future residents as well as for visitors.

In the City of Middleton, this body is the Landmarks Commission. Middleton’s Landmarks Commission exists “to safeguard the City's historic and cultural heritage, as embodied and reflected in its landmarks and historic districts.” (City of Middleton, 2024, Landmarks Commission)

But the members of the Commission certainly don’t do it alone! The Commission bases its decisions on input from left-behind documentation from those who came before, on anecdotes from long-term residents, on research by local historians, on collections of local historical societies, and ultimately on the desires of the residents themselves.

The City is its residents, and those residents guide what is historic to the City.

The Middleton Area Historical Society, through its dedication to preserving that which is historic to the City of Middleton, has compiled a list of sites, buildings, and homes that represent a variety of eras from Middleton’s past.

It can be found here:

MIDDLETON LANDMARKS

Of note is the fact that five of the buildings on this list are within the area the HAT Neighborhood Group is attempting to protect from outside developers.

These include:

• The First Middleton High School, built in 1878 (7739 Terrace Avenue)

• Little White Church on the Hill, built in 1870 (1720 Aurora Street) - pictured above

• W. F. Pierstorf House, built in 1890 (7457 Terrace Avenue)

• K. A. B. Kingsley House, built in 1868 (7509 Terrace Avenue) - pictured above

• L. A. B. Parmenter House, built in 1869 (7503 Terrace Avenue)

These structures have endured through time despite all of the changes that have taken place around them. They are still here today because Middleton residents cared enough to keep them and pass them down to us today. Like family heirlooms, they have been deemed important pieces of history; unique and irreplaceable windows into the past that should remain part of Middleton’s future.

(Note: The buildings listed here are not the only historic buildings in the currently-threatened area. All of those listed here, and others, are part of the Middleton Area Historical Society’s Stroll ‘N Tell Tours.)