Name/Title
Jon E Van'sScope and Content
Historical information on Jon E Van's for 1976 Bicentennial Celebration in Waupun, WI
*Facts are typed and was scanned with mistakes, if any, left uncorrected.
Jon E Van's
John Vanderkin purchased the corner store at 300 E. Main Street from Edward Hooker and remodeled it into a supper club, which opened Dec.7, 1974. The official Grand Opening was held April 22, and 23, 1975.
The street level seats about 90 persons at tables plus a large and efficient bar. The lower level seats 250 persons for private or special parties and is partitioned with folding doors for smaller ones.
The decor for the new supper club is contempory and he used parts of the Waupun Hotel which he owned and sold to the National Bank.
John Vanderkin, owner and operator of Jon E Van's, started in the business in 1965 when he ran the tavern in the County Park, which was called Big John's. In 1969, he bought the Waupun Hotel from Mr. & Mrs. Walter Vogel, and in 1970, he and his brother became partners in the Pizza Shed on Fond du Lac Street. He also bought the license and equipment from Jockey's Greystone Tavern (which was located in the same building which is now Jon E Van's) in 1970 and moved them to The Shed.
In 1972, The Shed burned out and in 1973, Vanderkin moved out of the County Park Tavern and operated the hotel full time. The Waupun Hotel featured room rentals, a bar, a dining room called the March Room, a coffee shop called the Tulip Room, a large banquet room which served the Kiwanis, Rotary and Lions Clubs weekly, as well as other private parties. It was also the depot for the Greyhound Bus lines.
Vanderkin sold the hotel to the Notional Bank of Waupun in 1974, and it was razed.
The present building housing Jon E Van's, is over 100 years old and the and the original support beam which may be seen on the lower level, set the motiff for the decor on that level, featuring heavy wooden support beams and ceiling beams. The building was built as a hardware store by Thomas Oliver and among many other uses, it was at one time the opera house, theater, roller skating rink, exposition hall, armory, steam laundry, post office, tavern, barbershop, department store and offices.
The building was extensively remodeled in 1969 for Rompres' Department Store, when it was changed from Jockey's Greystone Tavern. The Department store closed its doors in 1972 and the 3-F, Inc. used the sales floor for offices. Jockey's Greystone Tavern was in operation since the 1930's.
The building was built in 1868, by Thomas Oliver, using Milwaukee brick in the front and Watertown brick on the Mill Street side. D. C. Brooks was the contractor. It was 44 X 115 feet long and two stories high. The bottom of the cellar was native rock level and smooth as polished marble. The upstairs hall was w0 feet high with an elevated stage at one end. The front of the building had a balcony four feet wide, the full width of the building. The roof was tin so the building was considered fire proof.
Oliver's store was built for a hardware business, and the upstairs hall was grand hall was grand enough for a ball room.
Mr. Oliver took sick on Dec. 29, 1968, and died, never living long enough to see the "fruit of his labors". He was a native of Scotland, came to U.S. in 1834, to Deleware County, New York. He came to Wisconsin in 1843. In 1847, he purchased a quarter section of land about four miles from the village. He was a blacksmith, then he manufactured steel plows and then into the hardware business.Acquisition
Accession
2016.0075Source or Donor
Waupun Area Chamber of CommerceAcquisition Method
Donation
