Posts Tagged ‘stone’

The Northome Stone Arch

Tuesday, January 28th, 2020
Northome Stone Arch, Deephaven, MN

In an area of Deephaven known mostly to locals is a stone arch rising out of the trees as you drive through a quite neighborhood. On a historic plaque and online photo database, it is stated that the arch was built in 1906 by the German stonemason Florian Huber and that the original double arch was the entrance to the “Cedarhurst” and “Pinecrest” estates. It also states that in 1925, the left arch was removed to make way for larger vehicles, and in 1939, was deeded to the city of Deephaven. BUT according to a historic photo and the Excelsior-Lake Minnetonka Historical Society, the arch was built in the 1870s and was the entrance to the “Northome” mansion built for Charles Gibson, with only one arch.

Original appearance of Northome Stone Arch

While structures like this rarely survive, the dedication to restore the arch in 1986 has helped keep the history of the area alive for future generations.

When the “Northome” mansion burned in 1894, it was replaced by two homes.”Cedarhurst” was built for Russell M Bennett in 1901 and was a two story classic revival home. “Pinecrest” was owned by Joseph E. Clifford. A photo taken in 1904 shows the shoreline of Northome with similar stone structures in a retaining wall.

The Schillinger-Brings House in Saint Paul

Tuesday, June 19th, 2018

178 Goodrich Avenue Saint Paul MN

178 Goodrich Avenue, Saint Paul

This simple stone house with it’s hipped roof was built in 1859 by John Schillinger of locally quarried limestone. The home originally stood at 314 Smith (Oak) Street and was moved to its current location in 1989 to save it from demolition. It is one of the last remaining Pioneer era solid stone buildings in Saint Paul. The home is a great example of how early Minnesota homes mixed styles: the 6 over 6 double hung windows point to Greek Revival, while the hipped roof shows Italianate influence. The front porch was added circa 1890.

The house circa 1900 as it stood on Oak Street, later to be renamed Smith Street.

Schillinger and his wife were born in Weggis, Swizterland in 1823 and 1830, respectively, immigrating to America and settling in Saint Paul. He was a skilled stonemason and it is believed he built the home himself. In 1863, the home was sold to Joseph and Lucia Brings, recent immigrants from Germany, for $1300. Joseph worked as a cooper and operated out of his new home for a few years. Ever the entrepreneur, he expanded his business to include a saloon, grocery, and feed store. The Brings family raised 8 children in the home until they sold the home in 1873 and moved to the second story of their store on Fort Street, now known as West Seventh Street.

There is an excellent article about the history of this long standing Saint Paul family published by the Ramsey County Historical Society in 2015 which can be read here.

The Augustine B. Hawley House in Red Wing

Wednesday, April 18th, 2018

Augustine B. Hawley House in Red Wing

1105 4th Street W., Red Wing

On a large corner lot in Red Wing, sits a grand old home that can’t be missed, what with its purple porch and decorative eaves and brackets. It’s the home that Augustine Boyer Hawley built for his extended family in 1875. Sadly, he only enjoyed it for few years, dying at the young age of 44 in 1878, leaving behind his wife and 8 children.

The Man

One of the most generous things an old Minnesota family can do is donate their family history to the Minnesota Historic Society. Letters and papers help tell a story of not only their family members, but many times the history of the places they lived. There is a vast archive at MNHS about the Hawley family in Red Wing, including personal letters, that are a very intriguing read about the Hawley family, Red Wing, and history of the Minnesota and the United States.

Augustine Hawley arrived in Red Wing in 1857 to set up his medical practice, at the urging of a fellow Hobart classmate, and quickly became one of the preferred physicians in the area, traveling often to the countryside to see patients who were unable to come to town. He is described as a man of great character, intelligence, and charity. He was born in Caroline, New York in 1833 to Isaac A. Hawley and Anne Boyer, his father being a professor of the Classics at the University of Virginia.  In 1847, he entered Hobart College at the age of 14 and graduated with a Master of Arts degree in 1852. He went on to obtain his medical degree from Geneva Medical School in 1854. He studied medicine with his uncle, Dr. Joel Hawley, but continued his studies overseas for two more years in Edinburgh, Scotland, as well as Dublin, London, and Paris, before moving to Minnesota. During the Civil War, he was appointed to sit on the examination board to qualify surgeon applicants heading out to various regiments of the Minnesota Volunteers.

Hawley was instrumental in helping establish the Christ Episcopal Church in Red Wing, inspiring his college classmate Reverend Edward. R. Welles to move to Red Wing to become the church’s first minister. Welles later became the first Episcopal bishop of Wisconsin. He also encouraged a fellow class mate of Hobart College, Dr. Charles Hewitt, to move to Red Wing to take over his medical practice in 1867.  Hewitt, already a distinguished doctor for his surgeon skills and preventative approach to medicine, agreed. Hewitt later helped found the Minnesota State Board of Health in 1872, and after studying at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, in 1890, he established the first laboratory for producing the smallpox vaccine in the United States on Dakota Street.

The House

The home was built circa 1875 in the Italianate style out of locally quarried limestone. It features 15 foot tall ceilings and 18+ inch thick walls. The photo below shows details of the original front porch: thinner columns, decorative brackets, and a narrow full facade porch (all indicative of the Italianate period). In 1903, the home was purchased by Albert F. Bullen, secretary and treasurer of the Minnesota Malting Company, who initiated a major remodel of the home two years later. The architectural firm of Purcell and Elmslie was hired to transform the interior of the home into the more up-to-date Arts & Crafts style that was popular at the beginning of the 20th century. Today the home is a fine example of how even historic homes, at one time, have undergone remodels to more “modern” styles.

Photo of Home Circa 1875

As for the Arts and Craft remodel, the original oak staircase, which extended straight down towards the front entrance, was replaced by a curved walnut staircase extending into what was once a main floor bedroom. A formal dining room, with coffered ceiling, paneled walls, and an elaborate buffet, replaced a second, main floor bedroom. (These two bedrooms were occupied by the 2 dowagers, Mr. Halwey’s mother and his mother-in-law.) The formal living room was expanded from two rooms into one with major additions: grand wood beams to the ceiling, relocation of the fireplace, tapestry applied to the walls, and Tiffany light fixtures. The front porch was enlarged and changed to what is seen today.

A year before Mr. Bullen’s death, he sold the home to Henry Stebbins, President of the Red Wing Milling Company. Interestingly, Stebbins sold the home 12 years later to the next President of the same company, Harold Meech. Today, the home still retains most of the original features from the 1905 remodel, as well as many of the original 1875 exterior Italianate features. It now operates as the Moondance Inn, an established bed and breakfast in Red Wing.

Story

The Hawley family has many stories that contribute to the history of Red Wing and Minnesota. One interesting story involves the famous bank robbery in Northfield by the James and Younger gangs in 1876. Some of the gang members stopped in Red Wing before the robbery, and upon leaving, asked a six year old boy playing on the side of the road the best way to get to Northfield. The boy told them, and in return was given a silver dollar in thanks. After news of the robbery reached Red Wing, it was found out that the men asking for directions were the robbers, and the one who tossed the coin to the boy was Cole Younger. The boy was George M. B. Hawley, the young son of Augustine Hawley.

The Bed and Breakfast is also For Sale with more photos and interactive tour at the Property Website.

The front porch remodeled in 1905.
The front parlor originally had a corner coal burning fireplace.
The main living room was opened up from two rooms with the addition of a wood burning fireplace during the 1905 remodel.
The formal dining room was created from an original bedroom in the 1905 remodel.
This room was originally a front bedroom and was opened up during the 1905 remodel for the new staircase.
A chandelier thought to be from the 1905 remodel.
The staircase redesigned during the 1905 remodel
The newel post design from the 1905 remodel includes a motif that became a signature design element of architect and designer George Elmslie.

The Wadsworth Williams Tudor Revival Home in Minneapolis

Monday, June 19th, 2017

Wadsworth Williams Home in Minneapolis

1314 Mount Curve Avenue, Minneapolis

Designed by architect William Kenyon for Wadsworth and Ida Williams in 1931, the home has known only three owners durings its life. Mr. Williams was born in 1875 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, moving to Minnesota in the late 1890’s to attend Carleton College in Northfield, graduating in 1900. At the time, Carleton College did not offer specific degrees, thus Wadsworth graduated with a study in Classics. (He later served on Carleton’s Board of Trustees from 1937-1959, and in the early 1960’s his widow, Mrs. Ida Bourne Williams, made a gift to Carleton for the creation of a Chair in Economics as a “perpetual memory” to her husband – the Wadsworth A. Williams Professor of Economics.) Fifteen years after graduation, at the onset of World War I, Williams was a working as a clerk for the banking and investment firm Wells & Dickey Company. Decades later he had worked his way up to become Vice President of the company. According to a descendant of the family, the “home was built during the depression to create jobs for people who could both learn and build a beautiful, highly crafted home to lift everyone’s spirits at a time of great struggle”.

1314 Mount Curve Avenue, Minneapolis MN Bargeboard Decoration

Decorative Bargeboard

What they created was a fantastic example of the Tudor Revival style in stone, stucco, and half-timbered design and clearly showcases the excellent craftsmanship of the era. Original exterior architectural details abound, adding a story book element to the home: medieval styled arched entry door, copper gutters with fine details of acorns and hearts, decorative bargeboards, ornamental gables, and leaded glass casement windows. It is the perfect home for a historical minded buyer who appreciates the fine details this home has to offer.

The home is currently For Sale and additional photos of the home can be viewed at the property website.

Here are some photos of the decorative features of the home, inside and out:

The Charles Schwartz Stone House and Barn

Sunday, September 4th, 2016

Charles Schwartz Stone House and Barn

38448 Exchange Street Rd, Ottawa Township

Nestled down a quiet country lane just north of Ottawa Township sits a picturesque property along the eastern bluff of the Minnesota River. Christened “Bur Oaks” by the current owners who have owned the property for 40 years, the eighty acres of land features a bur oak savanna, pasture land, and restored natural prairies. Not to be outdone by the beautiful landscape, the true highlight of the property is the restored stone house and barn. Both are listed on the National Registry of Historic Places and were built circa 1875-1877 from limestone quarried onsite by stone mason Charles Schwartz.

Schwartz was born in 1830 in Buedingen, Germany, immigrating to America around 1833 with his parents and older brother. The family first settled in Pennsylvania and after a few years moved to Missouri. It was from here that Charles enlisted at the age of 16 in the Mexican War serving from 1846-1848. Shortly after the Treaty of Traverse de Sioux was signed in 1851, which provided settlement rights to much of southern Minnesota, Charles made a move to Le Sueur County with his family where he took advantage of a land grant of 160 acres given to him by the government for his military service. In the beginning, the home and out buildings were made of log, but Schwartz being a stone mason, took advantage of the natural limestone found in the ground and constructed the house and barn that still stand 140 years later. The property has remnants of the beehive lime kilns that he used to fire limestone for the production of mortar. It is said that his kilns provided the mortar for all the stone buildings constructed in Ottawa.

1903 photo of the Schwartz family in front of home

1903 photo of the Schwartz family in front of home

An interesting historical note exists for this property, discovered by the current owner in his extensive research about its history. In the journal of French-born explorer and geographer Joseph Nicollet, who chronicled his 1830’s travels in the Minnesota region, he noted the location of “White Rock” as a landmark on the Minnesota River. The sandstone and limestone bluff easily stood out along the river and was the site of exchanges between French traders, missionaries and the native Sioux (who called it Myah Skah). In his research he found the location of White Rock was apparently well-known locally, referenced on old land maps, and mentioned by a geologist from the Minnesota Geological Survey as being located “on the farm of Charles Schwartz”. Today natural erosion and vegetation somewhat hide the location of White Rock but the current owner believes its location is very likely the exact spot where a small cabin on the property is located today.

This historic property is currently listed for sale, with additional information available at the property website 38448ExchangeStreetRd.com.

Charles Schwartz Stone House and Barn
The restored house as seen today. The original entry ways have been turned into windows and moved to the western side of the home, to fit with the new historically sensitive addition added in 1988.
1903 photo of the Schwartz family in front of home
The family sitting outside the home in 1903, shortly after Charles Schwartz passed away.
Charles Schwartz and family
 
Some of the split rail fence is from the time that Charles Schwartz lived on the property.
 
 
Backside of the stone barn restored by current owners.
The stone barn has been completely restored and is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.
Bur oak savannah, pastures, and restored prairies are highlights of the property.
The Minnesota River flows along the western boundary of the property.

Julius A. Coller House in Shakopee

Saturday, May 3rd, 2014

434 Lewis St S, Shakopee

434 Lewis St S, Shakopee

In 1887, Julius A. Coller built the first phase of this lovely home in a simple Victorian style influenced by Gothic Revival details in its steep gables, decorative trusses, and spindlework porch. Around 1900, the roof was raised to add a third story, and the house took on its present appearance and floorplan. The wrap around porch was added in 1915. Amazingly the home remained in the Coller family until the current owners purchased it in 2000.

Julius A. Coller was born in Shakopee in 1859, his father having settled in the area when Minnesota was still a territory and Shakopee nothing more than a frontier settlement. He worked in the local hardware store from 1877 to 1880 until he was elected City Clerk. A year later, while studying the law, he was elected to the county office of Clerk of the Court. Having married Ida Adams in 1885, he quickly began a family, built his home, and became a lawyer in 1887. He was a prominent attorney in Shakopee and was elected State Senator in 1898, representing Scott and Carver Counties, a position he held for 16 years.

Original House 1887

Original House 1887

Living Room Around 1900

Living Room Around 1900

House Around 1900

House Around 1900