John George Ott House
The John George Ott House is an ornate Italianate-styled home built in 1873 in Madison, Wisconsin for Swiss immigrant Ott. In 1982 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. History 13-year-old John George Ott immigrated to Madison from Schaffhausen, Switzerland in 1850. He started clerking in a store and in three years managed to save $850. He later recalled that he "was so much encouraged by my phenomenal success, that I undertook to purchase a homestead and built a store in a location which at that time was known as 'in the woods.'" Ott's lot faced onto Williamson Street and he built his store on that side. He ran the store there for fourteen years, selling groceries and items like whiskey by the barrel. In 1868 he started a brickyard, which he operated until 1872. Then in 1872 he began selling accident insurance, fire insurance, and real estate. In 1873 Ott started building the house that is the subject of this article, on the Jenifer Street side of the lot where his store was. The house is in High Victorian Italianate style, with walls made of brick that may have come from Ott's own brickyard. The windows