Old Shoemaker's House

This old brick house at 830 S. Second St. is located on the edge of La Crosse's downtown area in what is mostly a commercial business area with very few houses. Just out of curiosity I checked a La Crosse city directory from 1907 to see who lived here 100 years ago and it listed a "Mary Leisgang, widow of John." Further research found that John Leisgang was a shoemaker who lived at this location as early as 1873. He died in the 1880s and Mary died on Jan. 16, 1914, at age 79.
Postnote: I was disappointed in the fall of 2007 to discover this house had recently been razed but at least I have a photo record of the place.