GEORGE NICHOLS FARM
6204 Ridgewood Avenue
Built in 1878, the George Nichols house is a good example of a Wisconsin farm house of this time. The house was located on 163 acres that Mr. Nichols purchased when he retired from farming at the age of 74. He moved to Dane County from Michigan in October of 1842. He became a successful produce and crop farmer in the area, having first owned a farm in the Town of Burke. In 1851 he bought a farm and lived in the house located at what is now 408 W. Dean Ave. The home on Ridgewood was his retirement house.
Like many homes of the era, it has two living rooms. Two stairways lead to the three bedrooms upstairs. Five unusual round windows admit light to these upper rooms and hallways. George Nichols is honored in the naming of Nichols School and Nichols Road built on parcels of his original farm.