Posts Tagged ‘folk victorian’

The Peter A. Dague House

Monday, February 25th, 2019
2520 Stevens Avenue S, Minneapolis

A simple house sitting on a simple street in the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis. The home was built in 1893 by Pike and Cook for Peter Dague and his wife.

Peter Alexander Dague was born in Pennsylvania in 1829 to a family of eight children. The family moved a few years after his birth to Ohio, where Peter eventually met his wife, Margaret Frees, and had a son in 1853. A carpenter by trade, Dague moved his family to Minneapolis around 1855 most likely with the promise of work for a fledgling city that was still a Territory.

In 1871, Dague built a family home at 2418-2420 Fremont Ave S, a Greek Revival styled home that still stands today, but has been slightly modified over time and is currently a tri-plex. It still retains the front gable with broken pediment, oculus window, and narrow windows on the second floor (even thought the original double hung windows have been replaced in the last four years). Unfortunately it’s current owners have no idea of the history they possess – the home is the oldest surviving building west of Hennepin in the Kenwood, East Ilses, and Lowery neighborhoods.

After Dague’s daughter was married in the home on Fremont in 1880 and both his children moved away to Deadwood in the Dakota Territory, he decided to build a new home. A woodshop was built onsite in 1886, but construction didn’t begin on the house until 1893. Sadly, tragedy struck that Spring and his wife died at the age of 60. From stories found in my research, Peter’s will to live after his wife’s death greatly diminished, and he died 9 months later in January 1894.

Dague was an avid builder in Minneapolis and is noted for helping build a small town in the Minnesota territory into what we see today; however, only the two historic homes he built are believed to remain. He is credited with building the Free Will Baptist Church in downtown Minneapolis at 7th and Helen (now 2nd Ave S), or 1st Ave S, since demolished.

Free Will Baptist Church, circa 1878

The Burwell House in Minnetonka

Monday, May 21st, 2018

The Burwell House in Minnetonka, MN

13209 Minnetonka Blvd, Minnetonka

Built in 1883, the Burwell House was constructed by Charles Henry Burwell for his growing family, second wife and four children. Mr. Burwell was the Manager of the Minnetonka Mills Company beginning in 1874 until the mill’s demise in 1886. The land was purchased from the mill at a cost of $1000, and the house was built from a design found in the Palliser’s American Cottage Home catalog (see below). It is said to have cost a mere $3260 to build.

While the home is said to be in the Italianate style, I really feel it is an “in-between” house. The home does not have any strong Italianate features like window hoods, bracketed eves, or low pitched gables. In my opinion, it is more a cross between an Italian Villa, which features a central tower, and the Victorian Folk style. The home was built at the very end of the Italian popularity, but in the middle of Folk period. It is not always easy to pin down a single style to Victorian era homes, but it is easy to see architectural influences in some of them. One part of the home not originally built in 1883, is the wrap around porch. Added on somewhere between 1989-1906, it is a good example of the Eastlake influence, with its elaborate spindles and woodwork.

Burwell House Tower

Additional Out Buildings

The cottage (upper left) was moved to the site in 1894 from the Minnetonka Mills site to house Mr. Burwell’s widowed mother. It is one of the original 15 cottages constructed to house mill workers. The summer kitchen (upper right) was added to the home in 1892.

The mill office (lower left) was Mr. Burwell’s office and was moved to the site in 1894. It now serves as the Minnetonka Historical Society building.The final photograph is of the original ice house (lower right).

The home is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places and is owned by the City of Minnetonka. Summer tours are available from June to August.

 

Ramsey Hill Folk Victorian – 537 Holly Avenue

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2015

537 Holly Avenue, Saint Paul, MN

537 Holly Avenue

Charles L. Johnston House

When Charles L. Johnston, Vice President of the D.S.B Johnston Land Company, was married in the fall of 1882, it is easy to imagine that this Folk Victorian home was a wedding gift to his new bride, Jennie. The house was completed less than a year later in 1883. The Johnston family remained in the home until 1896 when it was sold to Dr. George E. Routh, a local physician and surgeon.

The original transom windows are still present, as is a lovely tiled fireplace surround in the upstairs bedroom. Hidden behind the hallway closets is the original second staircase, no longer used, which descends to the kitchen. The original sleeping porch has been restored too!

The Burwell House in Minnetonka – 13209 E. McGinty Rd, Minnetonka

Sunday, April 26th, 2009

The Burwell House in Minnetonka

13209 E. McGinty Rd, Minnetonka

Built in 1883, the Burwell House was constructed by Charles Henry Burwell for his growing family, second wife and four children. Mr. Burwell was the Manager of the Minnetonka Mills Company beginning in 1874 until the mills demise in 1886. The land was purchased from the mill at a cost of $1000, and the house was built from a design found in the Palliser’s American Cottage Home catalog, or so the story goes. It is said to have cost a mere $3260 to build.

While the home is said to be in the Italianate style, I really feel it is an “in-between” house. The home does not have any strong Italianate features like window hoods, bracketed eves, or low pitched gables. In my opinion, it is more a cross between an Italian Villa, which features a central tower, and the Victorian Folk style. The home was built at the very end of the Italian popularity, but in the middle of Folk period. It is not always easy to pin down a single style to Victorian homes, but it is easy to see architectural influences in some of them. One part of the home not originally built in 1883, is the wrap around porch. Added on somewhere between 1989-1906, it is a good example of the Eastlake influence, with its elaborate spindels and woodwork.

The cottage (upper left) was moved to the site in 1894 from the Minnetonka Mills site, to house Mr. Burwell’s widowed mother. It is one of the original 15 cottages constructed to housemill workers. The summer kitchen (upper right) was added to the home in 1892.

The mill office (lower left) was Mr. Burwell’s office and was moved to the site in 1894. It now serves as the Minnetonka Historical Society building.The final photograph is of the original ice house (lower right).

The site is open for tours during the summer months.