Its steep gables, half-timbered walls and towering brick chimney make the house in this old New Glarus postcard hard to mistake. More than a century after it was built, the former S. A. Schindler residence still stands at 513 Sixth Ave., preserving a connection to one of the village’s early civic leaders.

The postcard identifies the property simply as “S. A. Schindler Res., New Glarus Wis.” The house was built in 1911 for Sebastian A. Schindler (1871–1931) and his wife, Anna Wohlwend Schindler. The Madison architectural firm Claude and Starck designed the Tudor Revival-style residence, with its decorative timbering, stucco walls, elaborate rooflines and broad porch. The Wisconsin Historical Society lists it in its Architecture and History Inventory.

Schindler’s roots in New Glarus ran back to the community’s beginnings. His grandfather Abraham Schindler was among the original settlers, while his father, Gabriel, operated the Peoples Cash Store on Fifth Avenue. Sebastian worked with his father in the family mercantile business, helping serve a growing village before the store was sold around 1912.

When New Glarus incorporated in 1901, Schindler became its first village president, serving four terms through 1905. He later worked as a cashier at the Bank of New Glarus, represented the area in the Wisconsin Assembly from 1913 to 1917 and was appointed assistant state treasurer in 1927. He held that state position until his death in 1931.