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Sale to clear books from Delavan's temperance house

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Saving Delavan's Temperance House

The former Israel Stowell Temperance House at 67 E. Walworth St., is the city's oldest surviving structure, but after years of neglect, it may be too far gone to save.

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Volunteer Henry Hibbler sorts and packages books from a collection that he estimated to number over 50,000 when clean up began at the Temperance House which is being donated to the Delavan Historical Society by Ed Chesko who's book collection is housed in the building. Cat Szalkowski-Patneau.

DELAVAN -- The Delavan Historical Society will hold a book sale Sept. 16-19 to empty the Israel Stowell Temperance House of its storehouse of books.

The historical society hopes to restore the landmark structure in downtown Delavan, believed to by the city's oldest.

The sale will take place from noon to 7 p.m. Sept. 16, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 17-18 and will begin at 10 a.m. Sept. 19.

Proceeds will go to the restoration of the temperance house.

The 170-year-old building contains a baffling assortment of books. Thousands and thousands of books on shelves, orange crates, sawhorses and the floor.

The collection is the life’s work of Delavan bookseller Ed Chesko, who lives next door. Chesko owned the Old Delavan Book Company and used the building as storage.

Chesko has donated the building to the historical society in hopes of saving it.

Some of the books are expensive. Some are rare.

Samuel and Henry Phoenix in 1840 contracted with Israel Stowell to build the original part of the building. That 34-by-27-foot, two-story section makes up the middle third of the building today.

The building originally served as a hotel and social hub for the Temperance movement upon which Delavan was founded, Delavan Historical Society President Patti Marsicano.

The Temperance movement advocated against the sale and consumption of alcohol and led to the prohibition of alcohol sales in America.

The Israel Stowell House is the last surviving Temperance building in Wisconsin, Marsicano has said.

The Delavan Historical Society is spearheading a rally to save the building.