This farm, originally owned by Nicholas Michels, who migrated from Germany in 1853, is regarded as the finest surviving example in Milwaukee County of a Civil War Era Italianate farmhouse. The Italianate style, which appeared in the eastern part of the United States during the 1840s, became popular during the period between 1860 and 1880. Its widest application to residences was in gabled-roofed L-shaped buildings with window frames with rounded tops, two stories in the main block, and one or two stories in the kitchen wing. Houses of quality workmanship were constructed of cream brick and included decorative features such as roundel or lunette windows in the gables and drip moldings around the upper portions of the windows. During that time there were hundreds of urban and rural residences of this type.

The Nicholas Michels House, constructed during 1867-1868 of “Racine” cream brick (with a greenish cast) was particularly rare because it has rounded tops to its window panes and its original shutters. The barn and other farm buildings represent an important example of Milwaukee County’s agricultural heritage. The owners at the time of landmark designation, Mr. and Mrs. Balistreri, faithfully preserved the farmhouse’s façade.