HomeMy WebLinkAboutNorth HillNorth Hll (Original Town)Stillwater Residential Area
Stillwater,Washington County,Minnesota
Winter/Spring 1995
National Register Identification and Evaluation Study
Final Survey Report
Submitted to
The City of Stillwater
Heritage Preservation Commission
Prepared by
Norene Roberts,Ph.D.,Principal Investigator
Historical Research,Inc.
7800 Tessman Drive
Minneapolis,MN 55445
Telephone:(612)-560-4348
Fax:(612)-560-0567
June,1995
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION FUND SUPPORT
AND NONDISCRIMINATION POLICY
This project has been financed in part with Federal funds from the National Park Service,
Department of Interior,through the Minnesota Historical Society under provisions of the
National Historic Preservation Act as amended.However,the contents and opinions do
not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of the Interior,nor does the
mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or
recommendation by the Department of the Interior.
Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973,the U.S.Department of Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race,
color,national origin,or handicap in its federally assisted program.If you believe you
have been discriminated against in any program activity,or facility as described above,or
if you desire further information,please write to:Office of Equal Opportunity,U.S.
Department of Interior,Washington,D.C.,20240.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Sections Page
INTRODUCTION 1I.
II.RESEARCH DESIGN 5
III.METHODS 8
RESULTS
1)Statewide Contexts
Stillwater and St.Croix Valley Triangle Lumbering,1843-1914
Early Agriculture and River Settlement,1840-1870
2)Local Context
Development of Residential Neighborhoods in Stillwater,1850-1940:
Historical Context of the North Hill (Original Town),1850s-1940s
3)Architects and Builders
4)Physical Qualities of the North Hill (Original Town)
15IV.
15
18
22
41
45
50V.RECOMMENDATIONS
VI.APPENDICES 52
A.List of Inventoried Properties
B.Bibliography
C.Conservation Districts and Centennial Homes Project
53
61
67
List of Figures
Fig .1:North Hill (Original Town)Project Area 2
9Fig.2:1848 Original Plat of Stillwater
29Fig.3:1856 Plat of Stillwater by W .Bell Carter
31Fig.4:1874 Andreas’Historical Atlas of Minnesota
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION FUND SUPPORT
AND NONDISCRIMINATION POLICY
This project has been financed in part with Federal funds from the National Park Service,
Department of Interior,through the Minnesota Historical Society under provisions of the
National Historic Preservation Act as amended.However,the contents and opinions do
not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of the Interior,nor does the
mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or
recommendation by the Department of the Interior.
Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973,the U.S.Department of Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race,
color,national origin,or handicap in its federally assisted program.If you believe you
have been discriminated against in any program activity,or facility as described above,or
if you desire further information,please write to:Office of Equal Opportunity,U.S.
Department of Interior,Washington,D.C.,20240.
I.INTRODUCTION
Between January 21,1995 and June 15,1995,Historical Research,Inc.(HRI)conducted
a National Register survey of the North Hill (Original Town)Stillwater Residential Area
of Stillwater,Washington County,Minnesota.The project area included the North Hill
(Original Town)residential area which was originally platted in September of 1848.The
objective of the study was to conduct an intensive historical survey of the residential
neighborhood bounded by North Second and North Fifth streets on the east and west,a
few properties south of Mulberry Street,on the south;and Maple and School Streets on
the north (Fig.1).Ninety-nine sites were identified in an area covering approximately 43
acres.
The work was conducted between January 15,1995-June 30,1995.The HRI research
team included Norene A.Roberts,Ph.D.,Joe Roberts,Ph.D.,and Nancy Lynott O'Brien,
A.I .A.Norene Roberts,Principal Investigator,is qualified under the National Register
program as a historian and architectural historian and has worked full time in planning,
identification,evaluation,and registration of National Register properties since July,
1978.Joe Roberts is qualified as a historian and architectural historian under the
National Register program and took the photographs during the Identification phase.
O'Brien is qualified as a registered architect in Minnesota and as an architectural historian
under the National Register program.She did preliminary research in January and
February under the guidance of Norene Roberts.Stillwater architect Mark Balay spend
an afternoon and evening helping to look through city permit applications.Marlene
Workman,Anita Buck,and Mark Balay read a very early draft of this report and offered
several helpful comments.Useful conversations were had with Robert Collins,Betty
Roney,Nancy Ristow,Don Empson,Joan Daniels,and Brent Peterson.
1
I |11AH IIA«j LIwt\1 ^1003 :10061004 1003',ICQI :tin.ldl1001ASPENSTREETWESTEASPENi.922I9271917i703
j._914311!——923mV—924ci»-L2PJ.910 LU913*UJ921I 921911UJUJUJJccrt.r E909»3121
322 I !306 I5S&H910 S 3917m502co214inSi310:s1
608 ;902905 STREETWESTFIM
I I814£_|42II413 409 403 ;;D 21!313|&Z0 Ttf21 ‘‘.nd814«23 -.!iS-s w ;g «i!t0 816JU[5 813 1 845rM5I-Iu dsa'sj—«0 v-»y^|
J.•Ii$>422 :2 2 r>[»*M r»j **•f*MSS 26 «*!5 53
STREETH1CKQJBYWEST
423 t 724L72£'724I 723715=709 g 621 j ^7I6 P 2ML *2»icXSP 720i ErfCa!Fs&s i l l *__I *-o3oz722 316'O 324614.604 ZZ ^1>c i TO:It STMSMAPLEWEST
VXv-t W *—Ll.l i—L.Jt=
419
•I•l •\:i;i •:I''•'W*7061702 ‘y 620 6l6j ^5r-pi06 !§3 §416
l I
§
LAURELWEST
:
Ml
313 ,
J09.
SOS L«S-^I 424
423 U^-L4 L6.
409 ’410
403 I 408
1 1MDFNWEST
rJ313»318 immMS?t tu 815 ;316
UJ 614K
506 ?|Z
STREET MULBERRYWEST
£2 '2817!**(£33 9 L3|231 LHt234 m235903v»w%232?23Q_a 223 r_228_229 228223 226tu229'2282.25 b\fi 226 223rgzz
3 213
219 rai 224uJj216215220E215.u 211213 216nuui$NUH 1 H M 10214.O Jc 210 222!JH&2fcis61JL20L.}-lift.]210 208211207205P58-1 202 Y~ID:2d201Ml?A4 UJ202 RICE>WESTSTREET129ui
x||j61l|lMl[J2LU2&J126124123121122121sp120a:cc117115116OoO...j 112C114czzo110oo618I516•*.••••z noz109Z :i111•808 jS 604 104718I104
WEST STREETSTREETMYRTLE
K|^d,709>3 !§|§1
i u
-•Si m Ms 102n&n»h 617813r*~noUIuuuu110cc 114Ka 115 hfcin••i 07121JI122 •••Fig.1:North Hill (Original Town)Project Area125SIF121
STREET I
5
5
S 5 S ]804 5|5|710|7Q2 i62,jsj8 (''*wiu4W |owxr^TTn1118^g°ai WEST OLIVE STREET1112
8I3W 7 2 3 I 7 2 1 I ••1717 ,713 Q623 617 g (509 '6011319305 304r>1aoOilsD§
<ills a.s 316R5§««s \mi210157241716.704808816UJ ^Ifwo313c:(9 WEST OAK STREETSTREETII1J819,815 807 721 1717.713 !703 623 613 603 517 507403j404401402'I
409 I 410 i718:414407;4 1 0 ill415 4144722-iiau 411L4114 UuJ 420 417418419u419424i*Fl4176 620§818 o 5 -610ijSffiu9049201018
PINE STREET-I -619 §[§1017 504 91704'717 I 709 g x 3035;SxxI901 811 801Hh~!510511 509=>L_J3 D 511oS|s oo oq s j s
w10to 5160784600716517518930836
WEST WILLARD STREET x WEST WILLARD.STREET EAST51 1|1005 J 609 1 F r H o?I ^^170«I21J811 803701 4091019d71951703921919||§i 903 313H421|41Jtu 704621SOnaJ600 704 703208709710 I -708710uiUJUJ711>11on 7iJ -P10rr714=;715fcUiinI*.n
611716716715 712•616 712tetiSd1—720 716 715720j928:919,916 ^-3:</>|716721 716CO720••11121 715m•noni1
The property types in this survey included dwellings,associated garages and carriage
houses,outbuildings,objects and structures (including limestone walls and wood or iron
fences),one city park,and two churches.These properties were located,photographed
and their physical descriptions documented.The project team compiled building files on
each inventoried site for the City of Stillwater’s Heritage Preservation Commission.A
project report was prepared for the City of Stillwater and for the Minnesota State Historic
Preservation Office.The format of the final report is determined by regulations of the
Minnesota Historical Society.Properties on the North Hill (Original Town)were
evaluated for preliminary National Register significance in terms of two appropriate
statewide historic contexts:“St.Croix Valley Triangle Lumbering (1843-1914),”and
“Early Agriculture and River Settlement (1840-1870).”The project team consulted the
Stillwater historic context study1 in evaluating local significance and determined that the
appropriate context was:“St.Croix Valley Triangle Lumbering (1843-1914),”and
“Early Agriculture and River Settlement (1840-1870).”The local context is
“Development of Residential Neighborhoods in Stillwater (1850s-1940s).”
This effort is part of the on-going program of the Minnesota Historical Society’s State
Historic Preservation Office (SHPO)which began after passage of the Historic
Preservation Act of 1966,as amended.The SHPO administers the National Register of
Historic Places program in Minnesota.In the early years of this program,the SHPO
concentrated on basic inventories of the 87 counties in Minnesota on a county-by-county
basis.Stillwater established a Heritage Preservation Commission in 1973 and,in
conjunction with a federal grant from the Minnesota SHPO,contracted for its first
National Register survey of the downtown commercial area in 1988.This study led to
the placing of Stillwater’s downtown commercial area on the National Register in 1991
l Robert C .Vogel ,"Stillwater Historic Contexts :A Comprehensive Planning Approach,"(Stillwater ,
Minnesota :Heritage Preservation Committee ,1993).
3
as the “Stillwater Commercial Historic District”by Norene Roberts,Historical Research,
Inc.In 1992-3,under a participating state-local program with Heritage Preservation
Commissions,established by the National Register program,the Stillwater Heritage
Preservation Commission applied for a Certified Local Government grant (CLG)and co-
funded a study of historic contexts in the city,conducted by Robert C.Vogel and
Associates.The final report,“Stillwater Historic Contexts:A Comprehensive Planning
Approach”was completed in July,1993.The Stillwater HPC has divided the city’s
neighborhoods into Historic Preservation Planning Areas (HPPAs)and intends to proceed
with systematic surveys of all Stillwater neighborhoods over the next decade.The
current report summarizes the results of the first HPPA to be systematically surveyed:
Stillwater’s North Hill (Original Town)neighborhood.
4
II.RESEARCH DESIGN
The current study of the North Hill (Original Town)was guided by a research design
submitted to the Stillwater Heritage Preservation Commission and the Minnesota State
Historic Preservation Office on January 30,1995.It is reproduced below.On March 15,
1995,the Minnesota SHPO responded to the initial research design as follows:
It is our opinion that while a preliminary evaluation of buildings is possible at this
stage of the project,a more comprehensive survey of all properties should occur
before conclusive evaluations can be rendered.Item II.C.of the research design
indicates that “the results from the North Hill (Original Town)survey and evaluation
may be subject to future revision”and we concur with this assessment.
The Stillwater HPC,the contractor,and the Minnesota SHPO all agree that since the
North Hill (Original Town)is the first of the neighborhoods to be surveyed,final
evaluations on the significance of the properties in the project area will have to await the
completion of several additional pre-1945 neighborhoods in the city.
Research Design submitted January 30,1995.
I .Identification
A.Objectives
1.To locate,map,photograph,and document the physical descriptions of
buildings located within the North Hill (Original Town)Residential Area in the City of
Stillwater.
2.Property types are expected to include dwellings (single family and multiple),
associated garages and carriage houses,outbuildings,objects or structures,Pioneer Park
on the east side of the project area (a site),and churches (at least one of which has been
converted to a private residence).
3.To look for additional sub-themes not addressed in the context document2 or in
the Statewide Historic Context:“Stillwater and St.Croix Triangle Lumbering,1843-1914.”
B .Methods
1.Review "Stillwater Historic Contexts:A Comprehensive Planning Approach"
by Robert C.Vogel &Associates (July 1993)and the associated property types contained
in that document.
2.Research the general background of the north hill residential area (Original
Town)from first platting in 1848 to 1945 through written materials and site records on
2 Vogel 1993.
5
file at the Minnesota Historical Society,the Washington County Historical Society,the
St.Croix Collection at the Stillwater Public Library,and the Stillwater HPC
3.Conduct field work and take black and white photographs of all property types
in the project area.Complete an architectural/integrity description of each existing
property regardless of year of construction.
4.Complete a Stillwater Historic/Architectural Inventory Form on each property
in the project area by entering the results of the field survey on the forms and a black and
white contact print.
C.Expected Results
It is expected that this study will provide additional information on the local context
“Development of Residential Neighborhoods in Stillwater (1850s-1940s)”developed by
Vogel (July 1993).It will also provide a data base for the City of Stillwater HPC and the
Minnesota SHPO on (potentially)the oldest residential area of the City of Stillwater.
II .Evaluation
A.Objectives
1.To evaluate the inventoried property in terms of the historical context
"Development of Residential Neighborhoods in Stillwater (1850s-1940s)”developed by
Vogel (July 1993)and the Statewide Historic Context “Stillwater and St .Croix Triangle
Lumbering,1843-1914.”The objective of this project is two-fold :to advise the
Stillwater HPC of buildings which may meet the local criteria for registration and to
evaluate those properties which may be eligible to the National Register of Historic
Places.
2.Provide the research from this study to the Minnesota SHPO and the City of
Stillwater HPC in the form of a final report,a list of potentially eligible properties or
districts at both the local and statewide level,and inventory forms.This information will
be put to future use in augmenting or modifying the established statewide historic context
“Stillwater and St.Croix Triangle Lumbering,1843-1914,”and the local context
"Development of Residential Neighborhoods in Stillwater (1850s-1940s).”
B .Methods
1.The Contractor will complete an inventory form for each property in the
project area which will record the applicable statewide historic context and local historic
context within which the North Hill (Original Town)properties will be evaluated.
Evaluation will occur along the lines of architectural and historical significance.Each
property will address questions of “period of significance”and “historical physical
integrity.”Foremost will be how each property compares with other known examples of
the type on a local and statewide level,and whether there is sufficient available data to
permit a determination of eligibility to the National Register.
2.Conduct additional research on the general development of the North Hill
(Original Town)residential area through maps,historic photographs,and written material
to provide a more solid historic context for the North Hill (Original Town)project area
with which to evaluate the identified properties.
3.The contractor will apply the available registration criteria previously
developed by the Stillwater HPC for evaluation of properties of local significance and
will apply the registration criteria developed by the National Park Service when
evaluating properties for National Register significance.
4.As warranted,recommendations for further research of the properties or for the
established sub-contexts to “Development of Residential Neighborhoods in Stillwater
(1850s-1940s)”will be made in the Recommendations section of the final report.
C .Expected Results
6
It is expected that the local historic context “Development of Residential Neighborhoods
in Stillwater (1850s-1940s)”is not sufficiently detailed to provide much guidance for the
evaluation of residential properties in the North Hill (Original Town)project area.Since
the residential areas of the city as a whole have not been systematically inventoried,
results from the North Hill (Original Town)survey and evaluation may be subject to
future revision which the history and architecture of the residential areas as a whole.
III.Registration
The Scope of Work between the City of Stillwater and the Contractor does not provide
for the registration of any properties identified in the course of this study.
7
III.METHODS
The Scope of Work for this study was to perform an intensive-level historical survey of
the North Hill (Original Town)of Stillwater,Washington County,Minnesota.The
National Register process mandates three phases:Identification,Evaluation,and
Registration.Only the Identification and Evaluation phases were contracted for in the
current study.This study does not include the Registration phase,a process of writing
National Register nominations.This is the first of a series of contracts which will be let
to systematically record and study the residential neighborhoods of Stillwater.As a
consequence,evaluations in this study are strictly preliminary because the entire historic
context of Stillwater residential neighborhoods is not known at this time.
During the Identification phase,each property was inventoried and all buildings,objects,
and structures were photographed.Each property was subjected to Evaluation by means
of intensive historical research which led to preliminary judgments about the National
Register and local potential as an historic site.The Evaluation phase was constrained by
time and money and is by no means the last word on the histories of the buildings in the
project area.There is a great deal of undocumented material and outright misinformation
on Stillwater houses dating back to work done since the mid 1970s.Some of this lore has
taken on a life of its own and been repeated in subsequent materials.
The project area was bounded by the following streets:North Second and Fifth Streets,
Maple and West School streets,to just south of Mulberry Street.In addition,the property
bounded by North Second Street,Cedar,Cherry,and East Laurel streets was included in
the survey of properties because this was the Pioneer Park area.A beginning date of
September,1848,was used since the study area was part of the Original Town plat of
Stillwater (Fig.2).
8
I
4~
i
±I—
',:,5 T /tCWAnr'*•v .•*
"/t -TER .WT.
S >/
/*(»,//i t.•X *//r ,£«*
.
:•'
cr**''
t^A '•f '!r <C -7
/,-A/.*A»,.
cjipjijjy *r*s i?r*c*^pT *"iyr///*»•«<5''**•'W/»1-«V
•>>/.s ./*>//:,S.A /2 -,
****“•»jr^(*,».//*-/^<r rt >.
\
•/.3 :h -v M</*»i ::i I^.V///C il A/DEK
:..>!7t {~t .7 A ;
J/»£/ri•*>n:r ^*:t -»r
«:>:**
uuLUirr rrntmT
4 t-i‘1zn?~:i .":i «r 57Jc
^:\»*J<»
AJtt^--..s"J &mr:;»i »K -m ?•«fcB •t ait r -i<Jr-<y-c>
#:-—r-5r-rr :/»Ahi,»»;t »:
Li'/4
A S ••t t ••ft £v c 5..:
A.;5 •*i#•:•r
5.3 :'J c:*»
jvj>M 7*f<V »r.i •rr ::...#.:i\«5-^o j *2J:.r *K tjt
*s''2A2 >t
t <•sr::&»
•*M CHltTrxrr »w «r
«••vT7-r t ;.*’mmo-42V w...*
J :
..AJ OLIVI tTJtXZT.[7^•i *:/2 s
!:i 2 •i I.I:rv.fi -*.;J /•:\**V*#:2••'i4^2
OrtJT fTXMTT
''T S:.
Fig.2:1848 Original Plat of Stillwater
3J IS1ty—:i n c 'At5/(XI nr /ii?
<•'"l 11'-••.iW.*4*<-**j >.2‘•4 C»*"^«39 'y c\38w‘WM*^;?
••W/1S5?1
fl
-s
T*.r 'fits\J 46 5;
i .••
•*
•»-k’t
^looomi:--.•,>4 ~.
I .Identification
Ninety-nine properties were photographed and described during field work in the project
area.Dr.Joe Roberts took the photographs and Dr.Norene Roberts recorded the
properties.This effort included all stone walls,metal fences,houses,outbuildings and
churches.The project area comprised some 43 acres on the North Hill (Original Town)
project area.
The only deviation from the initial research design was the inclusion of the Hollis
Murdock House at 210 East Laurel Street because it was located in Block 2 of the
Original Town plat and should,therefore,have been part of the North Hill (Original
Town)study.
II .Evaluation
Initially,the research was guided by three major concerns:1)identifying,inventorying
and evaluating properties in the project area;2)identifying and locating as many
demolished structures as time permitted in order to gain an impression of the
development of the project area for the historic context;and 3)evaluating the changing
character of the survey district between September,1848,and the present.These
concerns were palpable because the architectural importance of some of the homes is
recognized by the preservation-minded,but very little had been written on the possible
historical importance of the neighborhood.Another objective of the intensive research
was to determine,if possible,what houses had been moved or extensively remodelled and
when.
To understand the full historical development of the project area,historical maps for the
survey area were located.Most of them are in the Hubbs collection on microfilm at the
10
Stillwater Public Library and in the Weyerhaeuser Reference Room at the Minnesota
Historical Society.The Sanborn Fire Insurance Company maps were most useful in
determining street address changes over time,building materials,and changes in building
footprints over time.Eight Sanborn maps were available from 1884 to 1924 updated in
1956 and 1961.These maps,helpful as snap-shots for occasional years,contain gaps in
information.Although the Sanborn Fire Insurance Company documented most of the
survey area for those years,they did not,in all cases,document each and every building
since the first map was printed in 1884.The 1884 Sanborn map does not show buildings
north of Linden,which were outside the fire insurance limits at that time.Therefore,the
north four tiers of blocks of the project area were not shown.A 1901 Washington County
Atlas,the 1926 Hudson Map Company Platbook,and the 1938 Washington County
Platbook were of minimal help because they show no buildings.
Historic photographic research in the St.Croix Collection of the Stillwater Public Library
and the library at the Minnesota Historical Society offered the substantial Runk
photograph collections (both slightly different),as well as postcard,stereopticon and
birdseye views,and other historic photographs taken in the project area.A variety of
useful materials,including historic picture books,family photo albums,periodicals,
pamphlets,newspapers,archive collections,and manuscripts,shed light on the early
development and residents of the North Hill (Original Town)project area.In the photo
collections,standing structures and demolished buildings were included in the research
investigation in order to more fully illuminate the history of the project area during the
early development of the community.The photographs of houses were searched at the
Washington County Historical Society,but one of the HPC Commissioners had the bulk
of the collection on loan to be copied and we did not examine them personally.He sent
some photocopies to us,but without the identifying information on the back.We do not
11
know what River Town Restorations has in their files and did not have the benefit of
either their building research nor their photographs.
The newspaper collection at the Minnesota Historical Society had anniversary editions of
the Stillwater Gazette dated August 20,1904,and August 18,1943.These editions
contained some useful streetscape photos,but fewer photos of individually identifiable
properties in the project area.In addition,the St.Paul Pioneer Press was searched for the
year 1868 (because some of the houses in the project area were dated to that year),and
the Stillwater Gazette and Messenger were searched for various years from 1870-71 to
the present.
At the Northwest Architectural Archives,the architects biographical files were checked.
Radcliffe was listed as having designed the 1875 Isaac Staples mansion on the site of
Pioneer Park.Augustus Knight designed the Washington County Court House on the
South Hill.Beyond that,we searched selectively from A to Z,making educated guesses
on architects who designed for the well-to-do.Among the files we checked were those
on Edward P.Bassford,because he opened a practice in St.Paul in 1869-70,and others
such as Carl Struck,Charles Joy,F.G.Corser,Leroy Buffington,J.E.Cooke,W.H.
Hayes,Henry W.Jones,William Kenyon,W.C.Whitney,the Orff brothers,A.W.
Spalding,Charles Reed,Harold H.Eads,Carl Gage,Augustus F.Gauger,and many
others.This does not mean that some of these men may not have designed residences in
Stillwater,but that some canny guesses yielded no information.
City directories by E.F.Barrett for 1887,Bunn &Philippi for 1884,C.W.Davison for
1881-3 and available R.L .Polk &Co.directories from 1890-1987 pieced in much
information on original owners and were especially useful in providing period
"snapshots"and subsequent owners of houses in the project area.These were found at
the St.Croix Collection of the Stillwater Public Library or at the Minnesota Historical
12
Society.The research was constrained by the lack of reverse city directories before 1930-
31.After that date,the original owners for post-1930 houses were easier to determine.
HRI also consulted two boxes of historical material,developed between 1984-1995 and
mostly generated by the 1984-85 study for the Corps of Engineers of industrial sites on
the riverfront and the 1988-90 study for the Downtown Commercial Historic District.
The secondary sources consulted for this study are listed in the bibliography.
It is worth addressing what was not examined during the course of this study.The
Stillwater preservation planner and the contractor agreed at the outset that determining
the original owners of every property on the North Hill (Original Town)was well beyond
the scope of this project.To tease out this information,one would ideally have Abstracts
of Title.None were examined.The early historic tax rolls and recent city permits (since
1940)were also not examined.
III .Registration
This contract did not include writing National Register nominations after the Evaluation
phase.To explain why,the Stillwater Heritage Preservation Commission has divided the
City into nine Historic Preservation Planning Areas (HPPA).The North Hill (Original
Town)is being surveyed and evaluated first.Eight older neighborhoods will follow.The
city,its citizens,its historians,and the Stillwater HPC will go through a learning curve as
each neighborhood is studied.The National Register program mandates “historic
contexts”and they have to be broad enough to determine National Register potential.As
the first residential project area,the North Hill (Original Town)is only the beginning of a
historic context of the city’s residential neighborhoods3.
3 For further information see Vogel ,3-7 .
13
Three houses in the North Hill (Original Town)were placed on the National Register of
Historic Places on April 20,1982.They are:The Ivory and Sophia McKusick House,
504 North Second Street;the William Sauntry House and Recreation Hall,626 North
Fifth Street and 625 North Fifth Street,respectively.The Sauntry properties have
separate legal descriptions and are considered as one nomination but two sites for the
purpose of this study.
14
IV.RESULTS
There are two statewide historic contexts which seem most appropriate to the North Hill
(Original Town):“St.Croix Valley Triangle Lumbering (1843-1914),”and “Early
Agriculture and River Settlement (1840-1870).”They are discussed below in the next
two sections of this report as they apply to the North Hill (Original Town).They overlap
with the last context,“Development of Residential Neighborhoods in Stillwater (1850s-
1940s,”which has been expanded and refined in this report in the section “Historical
Overview of The North Hill (Original Town),1850S-1940s.The Minnesota SHPO
initially suggested a “Resorts”statewide context,but it does not fit at all the history of the
current project area.
ST.CROIX VALLEY TRIANGLE LUMBERING (1843-1914)
This is both a statewide historic context developed by the Minnesota State Historic
Preservation Office and one of the local contexts in Vogel’s "Stillwater Historic
Contexts:A Comprehensive Planning Approach"(July 1993:18-25).The founding of
Stillwater in 1843 marks the beginning of this context,which had its heyday from the
1860s to 1890,and had collapsed with the passing of the pineries by around 1915.Agnes
Larson has likened Stillwater to Bangor,Maine,in that it was located on a good
waterway close to vast stands of northern white pine (Pinus Strobus ).Stillwater was also
ideally situated to take advantage of a rapidly developing market for lumber products just
as the Upper Mississippi River Valley and the northern Great Plains were being settled.
As noted by Vogel:Lumbering played an important role in the economic development
of the town in the nineteenth century.It financed the flour milling industry,railroad
construction,manufacturing,and was critical in the growth of banking,insurance,and
15
other financial enterprises in town.Lumbering supported a vast number of collateral and
dependent local industries as well,such as dry goods houses and hardware stores.
Although there are no industries or commercial enterprises directly associated with the
production of lumber on the North Hill (Original Town),several of the homes of people
engaged in Stillwater’s lumber industry were located there.The best-known and
visually-prominent was the Isaac Staples House which stood on the site of Pioneer Park
and physically dominated the North Hill from the 1880s until it was razed around 1918.
Isaac Staples and Samuel F.Hersey founded the Hersey Staples Company,“a good
example of highly integrated business practices which put [the two men]into logging,
milling,wholesale distribution,banking and retailing (Roberts 1985:41).”Beginning in
1854,by 1859,Hersey Staples were advertising dry goods,clothing,provisions,
hardware,boots,shoes,and other articles on the Stillwater levee-all lines of business
which were needed to succeed in the lumber industry.They would take grain and flour in
exchange for fencing and other millwork produced at their lumber mill which led Isaac
Staples to buy the Union Elevator and feed mill in 1888,4.Staples picked a location for
his house on the bluff above his vast St.Croix Mills lumbering and manufacturing
enterprise on North Main Street.
Some prominent lumbermen and men connected with lumbering in Stillwater lived on the
North Hill (Original Town),but their houses have been razed.Martin A.Torinus,
managing director of the St.Croix Lumber Company,built a large home at 322 North
Third Street.It was razed around 1961 for the new Linden Health Care facility.Louis
Torinus,a Russian immigrant,made his money in lumber and in 1868 went in to business
with Isaac Staples as Torinus and Staples,a wholesale hardware business which sold
4 Norene Roberts and John A .Fried ,Historical Reconstruction of the Riverfront:Stillwater,Minnesota .
For the St .Paul Corps of Engineers ,July 1985 ,41 .
16
nails,stoves and other supplies to lumber camps,a collateral business which simplified
getting supplies to the Staples lumberjacks5.His house at 408 North Third Street was
later converted to the Jones-Torinus Funeral Home and subsequently tom down to make
way for the Mt.Vernon Apartments around 1970.Another prominent lumbering figure
who built on the North Hill (Original Town)was Captain Ralph J.Wheeler,whose house
was located at 118 E.Linden.It burned in a fire on June 1,1898 and was not rebuilt6.
Wheeler,one of Stillwater’s earliest citizens,began piloting on the St.Croix River in
1850.He engaged in the piloting,steamboat,log,and lumber businesses7 and was a
principle in Durant,Wheeler and Company of Stillwater “the chief towing concern of that
saw-town.”8
Extant houses in the project area associated with men engaged in the Stillwater lumber
trade include:
•William Sauntrv House.625 N.4th Street (President of the Atwood Lumber Co.;the
Rutledge Lumber Co.;the Ann River Lumber Co.;and the Sauntry-Cain Company;
Lumber Company;vice-president of the Superior Timber Co.at Carlton,Minn.;
stockholder of the Mississippi River and the Pine Tree Lumber Co.,p.5,Stillwater,
Minnesota,The Metropolis of the St.Croix Valley).
•Sauntrv gymnasium.624 N.5th Street
•Ivory and Sophia McKusick House.504 N.2nd.(surveyor general in 1872)
•Andrew Olson House,106 E.Laurel Street (bookkeeper for a large St.Croix Valley
lumber company9.
•James Mackey House.419 N.3rd Street,listed in Barrett:1887:162,as “lumberman.”
•Louis and Aurora Hospes.303 N.4th Street (part-owner of the Schulenburg,Boeckler
&Co.lumber mill in 1856.This mill eventually sold to Staples,Atlee &Co.;was
president of the First National Bank for twenty years)10.
5 Roberts 1985 ,42.
6 Fire Record book,April 13 ,1893 -Feb.22,1909
7 William H .C .Folsom,Fifty Years in the Northwest ,ed .E .E .Edwards (St .Paul :Pioneer Press Co .,
1888),424 .
8 Agnes Larson,History of the White Pine Industry in Minnesota (Minneapolis:University of Minnesota
Press ,1949),96 .
9 Jo Lutz Rollins ,"Stillwater Bicentennial Art Project "(On file :Minnesota Historical Society),n.d .(ca.
1976),22.
17
•John G.Nelson House.604 N.4th Street (J.G.Nelson and J.S.Anderson &
Company,manufacturers and dealers in lumber).11
•James and Ellen Lane House.118 W.Cherry Street,lumberman.12
•James and Anna Heffernan House.122 W.Linden Street (carpenter,pre-1884-ca.
1904).13
•Samuel Register House.411 N.Third Street (engaged in rafting on the St.Croix and
Mississippi between Stillwater and St.Louis)
EARLY AGRICULTURE AND RIVER SETTLEMENT (1840-1870)
This statewide historic context actually begins in the 1840s with Stillwater’s beginnings.
The date of this statewide context is 1840 because the first farm was established in
Minnesota near Afton,according the to State Historic Preservation Office.The treaty of
1837 opened the lands in the St.Croix-Mississippi River delta and Stillwater,platted in
1848,was then still part of Wisconsin Territory following statehood in Wisconsin that
year.
As noted by the State Historic Preservation Office,the establishment of Minnesota as a
territory in 1849,as a state in 1858,and the three events of the 1850s and 1860s which
William Watts Folwell refers to as the “triple troubles,”the Panic of 1857,the U.S.
Govemment-Dakota Conflict (formerly known as the Sioux Indian Uprising)in 1863,
and the Civil War of the early 1860s,affected the ebb and flow of settlement.The first
rails were built between St.Paul and Minneapolis in 1862,so that most of the events in
this context occurred before railroads were built.The first railroad lines arrived in
Stillwater in 1870 and 1871.
10 William H .C .Folsom,"History of Lumbering in the St .Croix Valley ,"Minnesota Historical Society
Collections (1901),302-303 .
11 Stillwater City Directory (Minneapolis:C .W .Davison,1882-3),46 .
12 Stillwater City Directory (Minneapolis :C .W .Davison,1882-3),121 .
13 E .F .Barrett ,Stillwater City Directory ,1887 ,131;Sanborn insurance maps ,1884-1904 .
18
Settlement in Stillwater began along the west shore of Lake St.Croix in the 1840s with a
cluster of commercial buildings and residences along a narrow bench which followed the
shoreline and early began to spread up the surrounding hills to the north,south,and west.
A portion of what became the North Hill residential area was platted in 1848 as part of
the Original Town plat,following the then-practice of laying out an organized linear
townsite.
The Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office offers some general guidelines to
evaluating properties under this context.Agriculture was primarily subsistence farming
and wheat was the primary cash crop.This does not apply to the North Hill (Original
Town)project area.Towns focused on rivers as sources of transportation and water
power.More highly-planned townsites often had linear town-plats oriented to the river.
Episodes which the Preservation Office notes under this context include:
Initial Settlement East of the Mississippi (1837-1849)
Initial claims and farms
Development of Settlement Patterns
River towns and landings
Penetration by Railroads (1865-1870)
Reorientation of settlement patterns
There are several reasons this context was chosen for the North Hill (Original Town)
neighborhood.The basic street layout was set by the 1848 plat of the Original Town,
which included the downtown commercial area and the riverfront.Both Ann Pung-
Terwedo and I were puzzled initially by the miscellaneous character of the streetscapes in
the North Hill (Original Town)neighborhood.Part of the answer lays in the original plat
of Stillwater (Fig.1).This plat was laid out parallel to the St.Croix River (Lake St.
Croix)and determined the pattern of buildings in the project area.It has determined the
19
physical arrangement of residences in the project area over time and contributed to the
haphazard arrangement and streetscapes in the North Hill (Original Town),which were
set early on (Fig.2 and 3).North of North Linden Street,the original plat is very
irregular as to lots on each block.South of Linden,the lots are arranged facing the
numbered streets,east and west,like the rest of the original plat,including the
commercial district.Between Linden and Cherry streets,the lots are 12 to a block,but
frontages face north and south.This accounts for the larger number of houses facing
Cherry Street.North of Cherry Street,the original pattern of 12 lots to a block,each 50
feet wide,is broken.Some lots are el-shaped,others very narrow,others very wide or of
irregular shape.To make matters more complicated,there was a cemetery on the north
hill until the 1870s which was the original burying grounds of the city.In 1874,the
stone-walled Lincoln School was built on the west half of Block 3,bounded by Third and
Fourth streets on the east and west and Laurel and School streets on the south and north
(Fig.4).As a result,most of the blocks not only north of Laurel but also north of Cherry
do not show platted lots on the original plat from 1848.An educated guess is that by the
time the lots were platted north of Cherry,squatters and early settlers already may have
staked out claims so that the lot lines were set after actual settlement in that area.In any
case,the lots and blocks were reoriented with changing uses on the north hill of the
original plat.
The second reason this context was chosen is that according to the County Assessor’s
records,several houses in the North Hill (Original Town)were built or are claimed to
have been built prior to 1870.Of the 99 properties identified,29 are recorded as having
been built before 1870.What is interesting is that almost none of these have been
verified as pre-1870 because such houses pre-date both Sanborn Insurance Company
maps,permits,city directories,or other easily-referenced sources.One wishes for all the
20
Abstracts of Title in the project area and a year or so to examine them,as well as the tax
rolls.
The following twenty-nine houses in the project area,comprising around 29 per cent of
the neighborhood studied are listed as built prior to 1870 according to County Assessor
records.The dates are undoubtedly inaccurate in some cases,but field observations agree
generally with most of them.This list reflects pre-1870 houses without regard to
historical physical integrity.
320 North Second Street (1858)
Ivory and Sophia McKusick House,504 North Second Street (1866 or 1868)
311 North Third Street (1860)
315 North Third Street (1857)
401 North Third Street (1858)
415 North Third Street (1868)
423 North Third Street (1868)
424 North Third Street (1865)
James and Elizabeth Roney House,510 North Third Street (1867-68;current
appearance:1878 and 1886)
St.Michael’s Rectory,224 North Third Street (1865),(moved 1894 and probably
renovated)
321 North Fourth Street (1860)
Josiah and Lydia Staples House ,402 North Fourth Street (1868)
410 North Fourth Street (1868)
414 North Fourth Street (1868)
424 North Fourth Street (1868)
503 North Fourth Street (1863)
604 North Fourth Street (1868)
102 East Cherry Street (1868)
110 East Cherry (1868)
114 East Cherry (1848)
117 East Cherry (1864)
Hollis Murdock House,210 East Laurel (1856 +additions)
Andrew Olson House,107 East Laurel Street (1860 +additions in 1878)
215 West Laurel Street (1864)
Dan Fry House,222 West Laurel (1850?)
Simon House,115 East Linden (1865)
James Heffeman House,122 West Linden (1854?or 1872)
218 West Linden Street (1868)
21
Abstracts of Title in the project area and a year or so to examine them,as well as the tax
rolls.
The following twenty-nine houses in the project area,comprising around 29 per cent of
the neighborhood studied are listed as built prior to 1870 according to County Assessor
records.The dates are undoubtedly inaccurate in some cases,but field observations agree
generally with most of them.This list reflects pre-1870 houses without regard to
historical physical integrity.
320 North Second Street (1858)
Ivory and Sophia McKusick House,504 North Second Street (1866 or 1868)
311 North Third Street (1860)
315 North Third Street (1857)
401 North Third Street (1858)
415 North Third Street (1868)
423 North Third Street (1868)
424 North Third Street (1865)
James and Elizabeth Roney House,510 North Third Street (1867-68;current
appearance:1878 and 1886)
St.Michael’s Rectory,224 North Third Street (1865),(moved 1894 and probably
renovated)
321 North Fourth Street (1860)
Josiah and Lydia Staples House ,402 North Fourth Street (1868)
410 North Fourth Street (1868)
414 North Fourth Street (1868)
424 North Fourth Street (1868)
503 North Fourth Street (1863)
604 North Fourth Street (1868)
102 East Cherry Street (1868)
110 East Cherry (1868)
114 East Cherry (1848)
117 East Cherry (1864)
Hollis Murdock House,210 East Laurel (1856 +additions)
Andrew Olson House,107 East Laurel Street (1860 +additions in 1878)
215 West Laurel Street (1864)
Dan Fry House,222 West Laurel (1850?)
Simon House,115 East Linden (1865)
James Heffeman House,122 West Linden (1854?or 1872)
218 West Linden Street (1868)
21
•110 East Mulberry (1860?)
DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS IN STILLWATER,1850-
1940;HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF THE NORTH HILL (ORIGINAL TOWN),1850s-
1940s
All of the properties in the project area were evaluated under this context,except those
representing new infill and built since 1945,for example,such properties as the Linden
Health Care Center,the Mt.Vernon Apartments,the Riverview Townhomes,and newer
single family homes.
Most of the written material which describes the North Hill describes it in its entirety and
does not address specifically that portion of the North Hill platted as part of the Original
Town.According to the historic context entitled “Development of Residential
Neighborhoods in Stillwater (1850s-1940s),”“it is [not]possible to evaluate the cultural
resource value of hundreds of residential and commercial buildings in neighborhoods
which have not yet been subjected to systematic preservation surveys.”14 The report
continues:
Neighborhood identity was engendered partly by the cultures of different ethnic
groups ,but is perhaps most evident in the localized influences and adaptations seen
in neighborhood architecture -for example,the concentration of large,well built
nineteenth century house of style on the North Hill’s [sic]are an eloquent statement
of the area’s ‘aristocratic’personality.15
A previous report by Paul Caplazi makes a similar statement:
14 Vogel,57 .
15 Vogel,57 .
22
The North Hill was an aristocratic part of Stillwater and the vicinity of Pine and
Sixth.H.W.Cannon,R.F.Hersey,May,David Bronson,W.J.Stein,A.L.
Gillespie,F.C.Cutler,John S.Proctor,Mike Moffat,Asa Bloomer,A.A.Capron,
John Whiteside and others are some early residents of that vicinity.16
Both references are to the North Hill neighborhood as a whole,not the North Hill
(Original Town)neighborhood which is the current project area.The families listed by
Caplazi all lived in homes north and west of the current project area.
The North Hill (Original Town)neighborhood is part of the Town of Stillwater which
was platted in September,1848,when the area between the St.Croix and Mississippi
rivers was still part of Wisconsin Territory (Fig.2).At that time,"there were about 600
people in the town and neighborhood,of whom nearly all of the men were lumbermen."17
The project area lies immediately north of the Central Business District and extends to
School Street on the north.After platting,the neighborhood did not become settled
immediately.More land was platted than was immediately developed in 1848,and the
lots were mostly 50 feet wide with 12 lots to the block.The area closest to the downtown
was built up first and the houses at the south end of the North Hill (Original Town)
represent the earliest period of residential construction in the neighborhood.When the
Original Town plat was filed in 1848,Blocks 11 and 12 and those blocks lying to the
south were platted into building lots.However,Blocks 13,3,4,5,6,and 7 were shown
as unplatted suggesting that construction had not reached as far north as Cherry Street.
The North Hill was known in the early days of settlement as “Government Hill.”The
reason is unclear.This name was used as early as an article in the Stillwater Gazette
dated August 6,1870,but undoubtedly went back to the first years of settlement.The
first county court house was built on the south hill and city functions south of the North
Hill (Original Town)project area do not entirely account for this early name.It has been
16 Paul Caplazi ,"Paper on Early Stillwater Days ,"Typescript .On file:Stillwater Public Library ,n.p .
17 A .Bailey ,Minnesota Railroad and River Guide for 1867-68 (St .Paul:J .Marshall Wolfe ,1867 ),37 .
23
speculated that the Point Douglas-St.Louis River Road may have passed through what is
now the North Hill area,thus providing that area with the name “Government Hill.”This
road was one of five built (only partially built)by the federal government during the
years 1849-1858 when Minnesota was a territory.The Point Douglas —St.Louis River
Road ran entirely on the west side of the St.Croix River and within a mile or two of its
banks.From south to north,the road “ran up what is now Main Street in Oak Park,then
along the bluffs by the St.Croix into Stillwater."18 Although parts of this road were not
built until 1857,just before the federal government ceased funding the territorial roads in
Minnesota,the first proposal for construction on the St.Louis River Road,opened in
March 1852,“called for bids on 31 miles of road between the southwest comer of the
cemetery at the top of the hill in Stillwater and milepost 56 at the falls of the St.Croix.”19
Grover Singley notes that until 1872-73,the cemetery in Stillwater was located along the
north side of Laurel Street,between Second and Fourth streets.20 From the southwest
corner of the cemetery on the north hill (approximately the intersection of West Laurel
and North Fourth streets),the road ran northwest and crossed Brown’s Creek in section
20.At section 2,this military road joined what is now State Highway 95 north to
Taylor’s Falls.This suggests that the original St.Louis River Road may have been
planned to travel north along,possibly,what is now North Second or Fourth Street,
before heading northwest toward Brown’s Creek along what is now Owens Street North
and Stonebridge Trail,crossing Brown’s Creek and heading north out of town.Another
possibility is that “Government Hill”received its name from the activities of Joseph R.
Brown in the late 1830s or early 1840s.Brown’s log home,the Tamarack House,was
used occasionally as a courthouse in 1841,but was never designated as such.According
18 Grover Singley ,Tracing Minnesota 's Old Government Roads .Minnesota Historic Sites Pamphlet
Series No .10 (St .Paul :Minnesota Historical Society ,1974),16 .
19 Singley,16.
20 Singley ,49,Chapter 3 ,note 11 .
24
to Anita Buck,the Wisconsin legislature appropriated funds for a court house and gave
Brown permission to build it,but a courthouse was never constructed.The Tamarack
House was apparently associated with the village Brown platted in 1839 called “Dahkota”
“About a half mile above the original townsite of Stillwater.”21.Whatever the
explanation,the name “Government Hill”as a reference to the North Hill remains a
mystery.
Stillwater began to experience a demand for building lots in 1853,which developed in
1855 into a regular boom,lasting two years,and quite a village was the result.In 1855,
the population did not exceed 1,000,housed in some ninety houses.Two years later in
1857,just before Minnesota became a state,dwellings in Stillwater numbered three
hundred and forty eight,with forty-five buildings occupied by stores,hotels,etc.The
population was around 2,500.22
By around 1856,Blocks 6 and 7,bounded by Cherry and Laurel and Second and Fourth
streets had been platted into lots which were wider than the original 50-foot lots on the
1848,plat suggesting that building was proceeding north up the hill (see Figs.3 and 4).
The southeast part of the North Hill (Original Town)neighborhood contains extant
houses which date from 1858.These 1850s survivors,according to the County
Assessor’s building dates,are concentrated along Second and Third Streets North in the
300 and 400 blocks and in the 200 block of Fourth Street North.Stillwater's first
cemetery in use in 1846,known as McKusick's burial grounds,23 was located at Block 3
21 William E .Rosenfelt ,ed .,Washington:A History of the Minnesota County (Stillwater :The
Croixside Press ,1977 ),226 ,229 .
22 Edward D .Neill ,History of Washington County and the St .Croix Valley (Minneapolis :North Star
Publishing Company ,1881),547 .
23 Edgar L.Roney ,Looking Backward:A Compilation of More Than a Century of St .Croix Valley
History (Stillwater:Privately published ,1970),31 .
25
bounded by Second,Fourth and Laurel Streets until 1867 when the Fairview Cemetery
Association was established24 and the graves were moved to the new Fairview Cemetery.
Writing in 1881,Rev.E.D.Neill described a “check”in the growth and construction in
Stillwater from what would have been the results of the Panic of 1857 until a few years
after the end of the Civil War.He continued:“In 1868,another boom occurred,followed
by building unparalleled by anything in the history of the city.25 The year 1868 saw
houses built on the North Hill (Original Town)neighborhood in the 400 and 500 blocks
of Third Street North,and the decade saw houses in the 300 block of Fourth Street North
and one house each,still extant,on Cherry,Laurel,and Linden streets.This was the
period when the county courthouse was added to the city's south hill,and downtown
business blocks and scores of new houses were built in the neighborhoods proximate to
the commercial area.Linden Street contains houses mostly dating from the 1870s and
1880s,but two houses there are listed by the County Assessor as having been built in
1854 and 1868.Development of the North Hill in general appears to have been
somewhat spotty during these early years.
The project area corresponds fairly well with the early residential area on the North Hill.
There is evidence that the south end,at Mulberry between Second and Fifth Streets
North,was less residential early in Stillwater's history and remains so today.For
example,in 1867,the Sawyer House,run by John Lowell and later purchased by Doe,
was located at the comer of Second and Myrtle,and Mike Murphy operated a blacksmith
shop near that comer.Caleb Page,a carpenter,ran an establishment on Mulberry near
Third Street.26.The 1884 Sanborn map shows a carpenter shop located at 120 1//2 West
Linden Street which was operated by James Heffeman behind the little one-story house at
24 Folsom 1888 ,410;Singley ,49 ,Chapter 3 note 11 .
25 Neill ,547 .
26 Bailey ,383 .
26
120 W.Linden.In 1884,a number of hotels and boarding houses were located just south
of Mulberry on Second Street North.A doctor's office and the Fitzgerald Machine and
Blacksmith Shop were also located near that comer in 1884.27.James R.Van Buskirk
established a paint shop on Third Street between Myrtle and Mulberry in March,1875,28
and one of the early Stillwater hotels or boarding houses,the William’s Hotel,was
erected in 1870 on the southwest corner of Mulberry and Third Street North 29
There was also Swedish flavor to the south end of the North Hill (Original Town)in the
decades before and after 1900.The City of Stillwater had 13,698 residents in 1884.The
city directory that year listed the citizens native to Sweden as the second largest group in
the city.U.S.bom residents,the largest group,accounted for 7,066,followed by 1,651
“native”to Sweden,and 1,463 “native”to Germany.30 It is not yet clear where most of
the Swedish-born in Stillwater lived or whether they were concentrated in any particular
part of the city.A census search by city wards might determine this.Most of the project
area was in the Third Ward.What is known at present is that two buildings in the project
area were associated with the city’s Swedish population.South of Linden Street,the
Swedish Evangelical Mission Church,320 Fourth Street North,and its parsonage at 314
Fourth Street North were both built in 1904.The Swedish population of early Stillwater
was substantial enough to warrant services in Swedish for many years and the customs,
foods,and cultural celebrations were observed.31 In 1930,the Swedish congregation had
built a new church and the Rev.Ernest C.Benson lived at 306 Fourth Street North in the
parsonage.The church next door had become the Bethany Mission Tabernacle.32.Most
of the buildings identified with the Swedish presence on the lower North Hill are no
27 Sanborn insurance map ,1884 .
28 Neill ,533 .
29 Neill ,526;Runk photograph 1873 .
30 Bunn and Philippi ,Stillwater City Directory (Stillwater :Sun Printing Company ,1884),11 .
31 Esther E .Swenson ,A Bridge in the Valley (Minneapolis:1973).Typescript .On file :St .Croix
Room,Stillwater Public Library .
32 R .L .Polk and Company ,Stillwater City Directory (St .Paul :R .L .Polk and Company ,1930),154 .
27
longer there.The Malmo Hotel,one of the Swedish boarding houses,was operated by
John Boo at 414 North Second Street from 1884 until it ceased operations between 1904-
1910.33 It stood on the site of the present 1929 house at what is now 416 North Second.
Although Sue Collins,former Stillwater librarian and historian,thought the Malmo Hotel
building is a portion of the current building at 416 North Second Street,a 1910 fire
virtually destroyed the old hotel:the building was valued at $1,500 and the loss on the
building was $1,000.The insurance company paid $1,485 to Mrs.Matilda Boo after the
fire.34 The Merchant's House,another boarding house,was located at 319 North Third
Street.It’s proprietor was J.M.Bengston who also lived at his establishment.Bengston
ran a second boarding house next door at 323 North Third.These boarding houses are no
longer standing.Fred Bengston owned the house (still standing)at 311 North Third
Street.
At the north end of the project area,Block 3 was a double lot (Fig.3).35 The west half
became the site of the Lincoln School in 1873-74 (Fig.4),previously,Stillwater’s first
cemetery known as the McKusick burial grounds,and the east half became the site of
U.S.Senator Dwight Sabin's home.According to the Sanborn maps of 1888,1904,1910,
and 1924 updated to 1961,the Sabin House site had been replaced with four new houses
on a development known as “Sabin Heights”by 1961.The large stone-constructed
Lincoln School on the west half of Block 3 accommodated a grade school with high
school classes on the third floor.36 .Eventually,the high school classes were moved from
this building to the new high school in 1887.37 Lincoln School was closed in 1939 and
the building was razed.The site,shown as “Lincoln Square”on the 1961 Sanborn map,
33 Sanborn insurance maps ,1904 ,1910 .
34 Stillwater Fire Department records for April 11 ,1910 .
35 Sanborn insurance map ,1888 .
36 Brent R .Peterson and Dean R .Thilgen,Stillwater:A Photographic History (1843-1993)(Stillwater:
Valley History Press ,1992),89-91 .
37 Peterson and Thilgen,89 .
28
-3
/!.i.....,n-'mm>
Fig.3:1856 Plat of Stillwater by W.Bell Carter
29
became building lots in the area bounded by Laurel and School Streets and Third and
Fourth Streets North.In this area,all 12 houses were built after 1939.The ones
constructed in the early 1940s became the homes of professionals and local business
people,including Allan Connel at 610 North Third,a veterinary surgeon;Lawrence
Linner at 613 North Third,a fuel company owner;Reuben Carlson,at 618 North Third,
owner of Carlson’s Super Service Station;A.William Magnusson,at 621 North Third,
Washington County Register of Deeds in the 1930s;and Wendell Beardsley,at 622 North
Third,an architect for the Bluff City Lumber Company.
The early 1870s brought changes to Stillwater when the first railroad arrived at the
waterfront with a depot just north of the foot of Myrtle Street in 1869-71.The Stillwater,
White Bear,and St.Paul Railroad reached White Bear in December,1869,and was
completed to Stillwater in 1870-71.The next line to reach Stillwater on February 9,1872
was the St.Paul,Stillwater,&Taylor's Falls Railroad (Fig.4).These lines vastly
expanded the available markets for Stillwater lumber and manufactured goods.The
population of the city increased accordingly.38 The effect on the built environment of
Stillwater was immediate.In 1870,88 buildings were erected in the city at a cost of
almost $260,000 and the next year 115 additional buildings were erected at a cost of just
over $530,000.39 A lithograph drawn by A.Ruger in 1870 shows the city poised for
expansion.In the North Hill (Original Town)neighborhood,the dwellings in the project
area are shown concentrated between Second and Fifth streets extending to Laurel Street
on the north.Fifth Street was a boundary between the built-up area and the farmland
beyond to the west.The land north of Laurel was farmland.The 1870 Ruger engraving
was drawn prior to the construction in the early 1870s of two buildings which came to
dominate the north hill:the 1875 Isaac Staples mansion and the 1873-74 three-story
38 Roberts ,36,37 .
39 Neill ,547 .
30
wszww
riixMw.O
f
t
L
C
A
f
t
S
77/otints .l/.r (on n r 11
Fig .4:1874 Andreas’Historical Atlas of Minnesota
I
T
I
H
'.T 'fIIII|p<n IJIKI 11 mu *m z *rr
•ll m .111LL
1mmi 5
S *.£rm ,V A\2-r -V\S r h H l r n l\,///•ymr^iu.A
a*I•i -1 S
50U.....*T;4:--~r-'IWASHING!ON ,CO .MINN
<rnt*iiOO /rrt hunt huh.
w >a
limestone Lincoln School.The Staples House and carriage house loomed over the North
Hill on the bluff for many years until it was razed around 1918.40 It is now the site of
Pioneer Park fronting North Second Street on Block 8.
In 1874,all areas in the Original Town plat were settled contemporaneously along with
the adjacent new additions to the townsite.A Stillwater plat map in the 1874 Andreas ’
Illustrated Historical Atlas (Fig.4)shows the North Hill (Original Town)neighborhood
entirely platted into lots up to Maple Street and shows the Lincoln School sitting on the
west half of Block 3.Unfortunately,the 1884 Sanborn map does not show the survey
area to the north of Linden Street,which at that time was outside the fire limits.John
McKusick still held a large undeveloped parcel west of Fifth Street North between Maple
and Mulberry,but new additions to the town had been platted north of Maple on the
North Hill,among them the Schulenberg Addition,later known as “Dutchtown,”
(originally “Charlottenburg”).41 During 1874,14 new buildings were erected on Main
Street,seven on Second Street,16 on Third Street,nine on Fourth Street and two
buildings,costing $8,500,on Fifth Street.But in the additions outside the Original Town
plat,69 buildings were erected that year,42 indicating that the Original Town plat was
rapidly in-filling with houses and businesses and people were building farther from
downtown.
Some of the early well-known citizens of Stillwater lived on the North Hill (Original
Town).John G.Nelson lived at 604 Fourth Street North,43 later the home of Mrs.Merry
and then James McGrath.Caplazi44 mentions early residents of the North Hill,such as
Isaac Staples at 303 Fourth Street North;Bronson;Folsom;and Torinus.The 1870s
40 Betty Roney interview ,March 2,1995 .
41 Vogel ,60 .
42 Neill ,548 .
43 Pryor and Company ,Stillwater City Directory ,1876-77 .
44 Caplazi ,n.p .
32
Torinus House at 408 North Third Street became the Jones Funeral Home until some time
after 1967.45 Adolphus C.and Aurora Hospes moved into a house built in 1883 at 303
Fourth Street North after living in a house at Third and Mulberry following their marriage
in 1870.Aurora Hospes was a daughter of Isaac Staples who is said to have built the
house for her as a wedding present.Captain Samuel Register,an early river boat master
and lumberman,lived at 401 North Third Street.Jellison,Doe,Wilkins McMillan,
Rhodes,Captain Wheeler,and Sargent lived on the North Hill (Original Town);as well
as James and Anna Heffernan at 122 and 120 W.Linden;Jon and Mary Lowell at 410
Fourth Street North;Dwight Sabin at 106 E.Laurel Street;James and Ellen Lane at 118
West Cherry Street;Ivory and Sophia McKusick at 504 Second Street North;and Judge
Hollis Murdock at 210 East Laurel Street just north of Pioneer Park.The E.G.Butts
family lived at 516 Second Street North which was built in 1879.46 (Stillwater Homes
Tour Booklet,1975).Judge William M.and Helen Jencks McCluer lived at 314 Third
Street North,the site of Stillwater's first Women's Club,razed in October of 1961 47
James and Elizabeth Roney lived at 510 Third Street North 48 Other families in the
neighborhood included Denton,Hall,and Charles Bean,O'Donnell,Harrington,Mackey,
Colligan,and Draver.49
Lumber baron William Sauntry built his residence at 626 North Fourth Street and in 1902
he built the ornate Moorish recreation hall at 625 Fifth Street North.Both properties
were listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 20,1982.The recreation
hall contained a dance floor,bowling alley,and swimming pool.According to permit
applications in the Stillwater library,the Sauntry House was built in 1880 and the original
45 Runk ,Book H ,49 ,on file at Stillwater Public Library;Sanborn insurance maps ,1888 ,1891 ,1898 ,
1904 ,1910 ,1924 ,1961 ;Roney 1970 ,43 .
46 River Town Restorations ,Stillwater Homes Tour Booklet ,1975 .
47 Vertical house files ,St .Croix Collection,Stillwater Public Library .
Vertical house files ,St .Croix Collection,Stillwater Public Library .
49 Roney 1970 ,43 .
48
33
house was 22 feet by 40 feet ,and originally one-and-a-half stories tall.Sauntry repaired
and substantially added to the house in 188650 and made some small changes to an 1876
bam on the property the same year.51 In 1894,Sauntry made other improvements and
apparently added to the roof or the height of his house.52 He also added the front porch in
1902.53 Although the County Assessor dates the house to 1890 (after which it was
supposedly substantially rebuilt),the permit applications tell the story of an 1880 house
which was altered and improved gradually over a period of years.The National Register
nomination also does not reflect this permit information.
Roney described Cherry Street in 1967 as "one of the oldest residential streets in
Stillwater"with an interesting background dating back to the 1840s.He claimed that it
appeared much in 1967 as it had in 1880,that the same 18 or 19 houses in a three block
area were still there,although remodeled and that only two homes had been built on the
street since 1900.54 Roney recalled that several men associated with the lumber industry
also lived on W.Cherry Street:his grandfather,James Roney,at 510 Third Street North;
James and Ellen Lane at 118 W.Cherry Street,and James Pennington on Cherry between
North Third and Fourth Streets.E.A.Folsom,member of Bronson &Folsom;Jud
McKusick and his brother-in-law,John Goodrich,scalers employed by the Surveyor
General's office in the city,lived on Cherry as well.This was where such families as
Staples,McKusick,and Lowell,also built homes.55
50 Permit Application #80,July 23 ,1886 (On file:Stillwater Public Library).
51 Permit Application #102 ,August 19 ,1886 (On file:Stillwater Public Library).
52 Permit Application #829 ,October 22,1894 (On file:Stillwater Public Library).
53 Permit Application #1058 ,March 24 ,1902 (On file:Stillwater Public Library).
54 Roney 1970 ,43 ,45 .
55 Bunn and Philippi ,n.p .
34
A school house was built on the north hill in 1862 in Block 11 and razed around the mid-
1870s.The Stillwater Gazette’s “Annals of the Town”for August 28,1929 offered the
following information:
In 1862,the board built a school house in block 11 on Government Hill at a cost of
$3,000,suitable for the accommodation of that part of the town.These provisions
accommodated the city until after the [Civil]War.
This school house,in Greek Revival style with a full front-gabled pediment,is shown in
two engraved views:the 1870 Ruger engraved birdseye map of Stillwater and the 1878
Andreas’Historical Atlas of Minnesota on page 59,and in an early photograph.This
school was located on the southwest comer of East Cherry and North Second Street at
119 E.Cherry Street,currently the Robert and Sue Collins residence.This common
school served the North Hill neighborhood until the Lincoln School opened in 1874.56
On the site of this former school at East Cherry and North Second Street,John C.
Nethaway,a Washington County District Judge,and wife,Cora,built their home in 1884.
After an April 11,1910 fire which swept up the bluff from the Northwest Thresher
Company warehouse on N.Main,destroying the Nethaway’s house,the family built a
new house on the same foundation as the older one by the end of October,1910.57 Betty
Roney recalled that Cora Nethaway was active in early welfare agency programs for
Washington County.58 This has been the home of Bob and Sue Collins since 1958.
The house at 110 W.Cherry St.was built in 1872,according to the County Assessor,and
Roney (1970)notes that it was once the home of Edward Eggleston,the author of the
1899 The Hoosier Schoolmaster:A Story of Backwoods Life in Indiana.Dates of
Eggleston’s major works are 1874-1899,and his only Minnesota novel was The Mystery
of Metropolisville ,first published in the periodical Hearth and Home in 1872-73.The
56 Peterson and Thilgen,89 .
57 Stillwater Messenger ,August 6 and October 29 ,1910 .
58 Roney interview ,March 2,1995 .
35
book is not about Stillwater.59 It is possible that Eggleston might have rented or owned a
previous house on this site,but the Methodist minister was only in Minnesota from 1856-
1866 and only lived briefly in Stillwater from July,1860,through most of 1861.60 If the
County Assessor’s date of construction of 1872 is correct,Eggleston never lived at 110
W.Cherry Street.Until recently,this house was the home of the Frank S.and Dale L.
Register Family for many years.61 Roney also claims that this house was the home of
Charles N.Nelson in the 1860s,who was then getting his start in the lumber industry.62
He became one of the wealthiest men in the St.Croix valley and served as President of
the First National Bank in Stillwater.Again,if the house was actually constructed in
1872,it is probably not the one in which Nelson lived .The massing and steeply-pitched
roof gables mark this house as probably Gothic,which was popular in the 1870s,rather
than the earlier Greek Revival,a common high style on the North Hill (Original Town)in
the 1860s.
Other residents of Cherry Street included:Charles H.Browne,county auditor for many
years;Edwin Folsom at Fourth and Cherry,a county auditor;and two mayors of
Stillwater,Asa W.Pattee,a fuel dealer,(222 W.Cherry)and Charles A.Staples,son of
Isaac Staples.Mrs.Grace Maunsell,city treasurer in 1930,and her son,Warren,a special
municipal judge,lived on the comer of Cherry at 424 North Third;and Paul Hanson,a
city council member,lived at Fifth and Cherry.63 The house at 212 West Cherry was the
home of Roy G.Staples,president of the Cosmopolitan State Bank.64
59 John T .Flanagan,"The Hoosier Schoolmaster in Minnesota"(.Minnesota History 18 :4 [December
1947]),347-370;Edward Egggleston Papers,Minnesota Historical Society .
Eggleston Papers .
61 Polk ,1930-31 ,149;Polk 1987 ,54;Roney 1970,43 .
62 Roney 1970 ,44 .
63 Roney 1970,43 ,44 .
64 Roney 1970,45;Polk 1930,149.
60
36
Like Cherry Street,described by Roney in 1970,the North Hill (Original Town)always
seems to have had a combination of well-known businessmen and politicians living
amicably near owners of smaller businesses,some professional people,and people of
more modest means,including laborers.Very prominent families such as the Isaac
McKusicks,J.N.Bonson,Dwight Sabin,A.C.Hospes,Captain Wheeler,and the Staples
(Josiah Staples at 402 North Fourth Street)lived in the neighborhood and were prominent
in Stillwater social,civic,and business affairs.In addition to A.W.Pattee and Charles
A.Staples,at least two other mayors of Stillwater lived in the North Hill (Original
Town):Judge Hollis R.Murdock,at 210 East Laurel,and Judge William M.McClure,
whose house sat at 314 North Third and was razed for the Linden Health Care Center.
McClure was mayor in 1876;Murdock in 1885-86,Charles Staples from 1892-96,and
Pattee from 1896-99.65 The homes of these men prompted Robert Vogel in a recent
historic context report to state that the “concentration of large,well-built nineteenth
century houses of style on the North Hill’s (sic.)are an eloquent statement of that area’s
‘aristocratic’personality."66
But the North Hill (Original Town)is also remarkable for the intermix of “aristocratic”
homes next door to middle-class homes and very modest side-gabled one story homes.
This was a pattern that was established early and has continued to the present day.Some
of the homes were built small and added to as was the case with the home of Daniel Fry.
Daniel Fry,for example,operated an early cigar store and confectionery on Main Street
and eventually moved his confectionery business into a separate small building on the
southwest comer of his house lot at 224 West Laurel.The Dan Fry House at 222 West
Laurel Street was built in the early 1870s.An addition was added sometime in the 1880s,
according to the back of a historic photograph in the possession of the current owner.
65 Peterson and Thilgen,39,40.
66 Vogel ,57 .
37
The home at 114 East Linden Street was once home to Robert Sinclair,stone mason at
the first prison,and to Samuel Hersey,the lumber mill owner prior to 1900.It was
moved to its present site in 190367 from its former location on the northeast corner of
North Second and Laurel (possibly from 603 Second Street North on the 1898 Sanborn
map).The home described as the Simon house at 115 E.Linden Street was supposedly
built in 1865,but no Simon is listed in either the 1865 or 1867-68 gazetteers.This house
and only one other stood on the block for years because a ravine came down across
Linden Street.The home was later sold to Arthur Anderson,who is said to have helped
bring the first railroad to Stillwater,according to a 1982 River Town Restoration Tour
Booklet.The modest house at 117 West Cherry was,according to the permit application,
built in 1894 for Mrs.Charles H.Rhoads,but the architect was listed as her son,C.H.
Rhoads,Jr.,probably the builder.
Available permit applications from the 1880s to 1910 indicate that many owners enlarged
existing older houses or raised the roofs and added stories,as did William Sauntry,or
substantially repaired an existing house.A few historic photographs of the neighborhood
and a close look at some of the houses listed as having been built between 1850-1870,
indicate that first homes on the north hill were generally small,often one story,and
scattered sparingly over the North Hill.Two of these survivors are located at 110 East
Mulberry and 320 North Second Street.They are now-rare early vernacular architectural
types in Minnesota.The former has been added to in the rear and the latter has received a
front porch.Both are side-gabled,one story,and expressions of a vernacular style when
Greek Revival was the rage with more expensive houses.The house at 415 North Third
is another modest vernacular home representing the story-and-a-half front gable form and
it is thought to have been erected in 1868.It is similar in massing and character to the
67 Permit Application #\112 (On file:Stillwater Public Library).
38
house at 312 North Fourth thought to have been built in 1860.These last two houses
have been resided and have lost their historic architectural integrity.
Beginning in the 1850s when portions of the North Hill (Original Town)began to be built
up,certain national “high styles”intermixed with older modest homes.The North Hill
(Original Town)contains good examples of Greek Revival,Italianate,Queen Anne,Stick
Style,Craftsman,and other nationally popular styles,but they are scattered throughout
the neighborhood rather than concentrated in particular areas.The Ivory and Sophia
McKusick House at 504 Second Street North was built in the French Second Empire style
between 1866 or 186868 and 187469 and was listed on the National Register of Historic
Places on April 20,1982.The 1866 construction date in the nomination has not been
confirmed.The other two outstanding French Second Empire houses in the
neighborhood built by the mid-1870s were the Wheeler House which burned in 1898 and
the Isaac Staples House,(razed ca.1918).But even in the twentieth century,modest
houses have continued to be built in the area.For example,the little Bungalow Style
house at 517 North Third Street,built in 1919,replaced an earlier el-shaped house on the
site.No pretense of high style is present and the house bespeaks an original owner of
modest means.
The North Hill (Original Town)neighborhood followed the rise and fall of Stillwater's
fortunes.Over the years since the first houses were built,the North Hill (Original Town)
has been rearranged by fires,house moves,demolitions,and rebuilding.Almost
everyone in Stillwater is acquainted with the Isaac Staples house,a tall imposing stone
mansard-roofed mansion which dominated the bluff on what is now Pioneer Park.
68 Tom Harvey ,"Historic Resources of Washington County (Partial Inventory —Historic Properties)"
(St .Paul :State Historic Preservation Office ,1981).
69 Alfred T .Andreas ,An Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Minnesota (Chicago :Charles Shober
and Company ,1874),54 .
39
Staples built above his vast industrial complex,the St.Croix Mills,on North Main.
There,Staples manufactured flooring,siding,lath,pickets,moldings,eaves and wood
gutters and hardwood millwork of all sorts.Isaac Staples could walk down a stairway
from the bluff to oversee his vast operations each day.70 After the Staples House was tom
down,the city did not immediately establish Pioneer Park.This apparently came in 1935
when the “Pioneer Picnic Park”was described as the “latest addition to Stillwater’s park
system.”71
Fire played a role through the years in changing the character of the North Hill (Original
Town)as did the moving of houses,sometimes in combination.The imposing two-story
mansard-roof home of Captain Wheeler at 118 East Linden burned to the ground on June
1,1898.In its place,the house on Block 2 near the Hollis Murdock House was moved to
114 East Linden in April,190372 and soon turned in to apartments.The largest fire on the
North Hill (Original Town)occurred on April 11,1910 when the Northwest Thresher
Company warehouse on North Main caught on fire and consumed the building,then
valued at almost $13,000.The blaze swept up the bluff,catching several houses and
outbuildings on fire.Many of the homes were evacuated as worried residents watched
their roofs and took furniture out of their houses for safe-keeping.Ten properties on the
North Hill were affected,but not all of them in the project area.The Warden’s House
suffered a loss of under $40,but the houses at 520 and 522 N.Main were heavily
damaged together with two other houses directly up the bluff on N.William Street and
East Laurel.In the North Hill (Original Town),the large Queen Anne style Judge
Nethaway House at 119 East Cherry was completely destroyed and down the hill behind
Nethaway’s the Malmo Hotel at 414 North Second was a total write-off by the insurance
company.The Hall House at 113 East Cherry,then owned by J.A.Bronson,suffered
70 Photograph #204 ,John Runk Collection,Minnesota Historical Society.
71 Supplement to the Stillwater Post-Messenger,June 27,1935.
72 Permit Application #1112 (On file:Stillwater Public Library).
40
over $1,000 in damage,and houses or outbuildings at 110 E.Cherry and 409 North Third
suffered damage.73
Houses were commonly moved when it suited new or existing owners wishing to add on
or upgrade their property.Such was the case with the house at 224 North Fourth,sided
with metal to look like rusticated stone blocks.This large house was originally the old
Catholic rectory,associated with St.Michael’s Catholic Church when the old church was
on North Fourth.Father Thomas Murray enlarged the church,built a rectory,and started
a parish school between 1856-1870.The city permit application notes that the house was
“the old Catholic Parsonage building of wood.”The rectory was moved from the north
side of Mulberry to the south side,or from the site of 306 North Fourth to 224 North
Fourth in June,1894 by John P.Fitzgerald,the new owner and proprietor of a nearby
foundry and blacksmith shop.74 Another example of a common move was placing a
building somewhere else on the same property.The carriage house which was originally
associated with what is probably the George Seymour House at 518 North Third Street
and was moved north some 20 feet between 1910-24 and converted to “flats”according
to the Sanborn maps.The house at 115 East Linden was also moved,20 feet east on the
lot in 1904 by its owner Arthur Anderson.75 There are several other examples of house
mover,C.A.Bengston,moving several houses around the east side of the North Hill
(Original Town)in the years around 1900.
BUILDERS AND ARCHITECTS
73 Stillwater Daily Gazette,April 11 and 12,1910 .
74 Permit Application #812 (On file:Stillwater Public Library).
75 Permit Application #1186 (On file:Stillwater Public Library).
41
This section is offered in the hopes that subsequent studies of the residential
neighborhoods of Stillwater will supplement the information herein contained.The
North Hill (Original Town)is the first neighborhood in the City of Stillwater to be
systematically surveyed under a Certified Local Government grant administered by the
State Historic Preservation Office.By the time all the neighborhoods of the city are
surveyed,planned to be completed around 2003,this initial effort will probably seem
naive.So be it.There are always beginnings.Unfortunately,none of the over ten years
of research and work by the local River Town Restoration group were available for this
study.
The Northwest Architectural Archives contains virtually no information on architects
who practiced in Stillwater’s residential neighborhoods.Particular attention was given to
Minnesota architects who practiced before 1900.The Isaac Staples House on the north
hill was designed by Abraham M.Radcliffe in 1875.Radcliffe,born in New York in
1827,opened a Minneapolis office in 1857 and a St.Paul office in 1858.He closed his
Minneapolis office in 1868.In addition to early commercial buildings in St.Paul and
Minneapolis,Radcliffe designed several large residences on Summit Avenue,and the
LeDuc House in Hastings in 1863-66,as well as the Philo Q.Boyden House in Hudson
Wisconsin in 1879.If Radcliff did other house commissions after the Staples house was
built in 1875,his work has not been recorded in the Northwest Architectural Archives.
Another early Minnesota architect who appears in the Northwest Architectural Archives
files as having had a commission in Stillwater is Augustus F.Knight.Knight,also bom
in New York State in 1831,came to St.Anthony Falls in 1857 and settled in St.Paul
where he practiced from 1861-1912.Knight did the first design for the LeDuc House in
Hastings,which was redone and completed by Radcliffe.Knight also designed the
County Court House in Stillwater on the south hill in 1867,St.Mary’s Church and a
42
Merchant’s Hotel in either Stillwater or St.Paul76.There is no indication yet that either
Radcliffe or Knight’s two known commissions in Stillwater gained them subsequent
commissions,either residential or commercial.One would think that two such visible
commissions in Stillwater would have led to more work for both men in the city before
1900.
Little is known about other architects who are known to have designed buildings in the
project area.K.E.Peterson,listed as an architect,is credited with designing both the
Swedish Mission Church,320 North Fourth Street,and the parsonage next door at 314
North Fourth Street in 1904,but no other information has come to light on him.77 Eugene
Schmidt was listed as a Stillwater architect in 1902,78 but before that year he appears to
have been a boat designer and builder.No houses designed by Schmidt have been found
so far in the project area.In the twentieth century,William M.Ingemann,a St.Paul
architect,designed the Stillwater Armory in 1926-27,but we have discovered no
residential designs by Ingemann in Stillwater following this commission.
Builders and carpenters were plentiful in the nineteenth century and often built homes
from pattern books,which were available through lumber yards and local mills or through
the mail.It is likely that the practice of building pattern book houses was a strong one in
Stillwater where so many businesses produced lumber and finished millwork.For
example,we did uncover two pattern books at the Minnesota Historical Society,White
Pine in Home Building ,8th edition (1919)and White Pine:The Wood Pre -Eminent
Today as Always in Home Building (1914).These were published by The Northern Pine
Manufacturers Association of St.Paul and Minneapolis.In both cases,the David Tozer
76 Radcliffe and Knight files,Northwest Architectural Archives,University of Minnesota;Anita Buck
comments on a draft of this report dated March 13,1995.
77 Permit Applications #1156 and 1157 (On file:Stillwater Public Library).
78 Polk,Stillwater City Directory ,1902-03.
43
Company of Stillwater was listed as an association member and probably operated as an
outlet for contemporary pattern book house plans.There is a good possibility that the
many contractors and carpenters in Stillwater in the nineteenth century built many of the
city’s homes from patterns.
Through the years,there were many carpenters and contractors based in Stillwater.In
1873 during the building boom caused by the coming of the railroads into Stillwater,G.
W.Battles and John Green were listed as contractors;E.Bronne,Thomas Ro[o]ney,and
Thomas Sinclair as builders;and O.Griffith &Son as carpenters.79 Another early
contractor was William M.May,who built the Louis Hospes House at Third and
Mulberry in 1872.80 Not all of these builders have been positively associated with houses
and buildings on the North Hill (Original Town),but some have.Thomas Roney is
known to have done some work on the North Hill (Original Town):an addition and
repairs for the William Sauntry House at 625 North Fourth Street and an addition to the
Sauntry bam in 188681 and an addition in 1892 to the Emma Webster Residence at 321
North Fourth Street .82 Frank Linner,a carpenter,is thought to have built the E.G.Butts
House at 516 North Second Street in 1879.Linner also altered a kitchen in the original
Nethaway House at 119 E.Cherry in 1899;83 built a bam for Mrs.H.N.McKusick at 308
North Third Street the same year;84 made some general repairs at the Dr.F.A.Lenox
Residence in 1909;85 built a new concrete block garage for the Lenox family in 1910;86
and built a new Craftsman style house in 1914 for A.W.Magnusson at 614 North Fourth
79 H .E.Newton and Company,Minnesota State Business Directory (n.p.:H .E.Newton and Company ,
1873),314-318.
80 Stillwater Gazette July 9,1872 .
81 Permit Applications #80 and 102 (On file:Stillwater Public Library).
82 Permit Application #682 (On file:Stillwater Public Library).
83 Permit Application #978 (On file:Stillwater Public Library).
84 Permit Application #970 (On file:Stillwater Public Library).
85 Permit Application #1370 (On file:Stillwater Public Library).
Permit Applications #1392 &1/2 (On file:Stillwater Public Library).86
44
Street.87 In 1899,Frank Linner listed himself on the permit applications at Linner &
Company.
In 1887,Stevens &Spindle had 15-20 men working for them laying brick and masonry
work,but the predominant material in the project area was wood.In 1887,Northey Bros,
had the contract for the new high school building which replaced Lincoln School.Permit
applications on file at the Stillwater Public Library indicate that the Northey Brothers also
did some repairs on the residence of J.B.Sanborn in Block 7 on the north hill in 1886.88
Other contractors at that time were August Jackson,O’Neil Brothers,L.W.Eldred,
George M.Seymour,William Willim,and John Sutherland.89 John Green was also a
general contractor.Joe Carroll,writing in 1970,described George M.Seymour as a
prominent architect and builder.90 All of these men may have may have done work on
the North Hill (Original Town)but the early permits,which are incomplete,do not list
their work in the project area.
PHYSICAL QUALITIES OF THE NORTH HILL (ORIGINAL TOWN)
One of the primary qualities of the North Hill (Original Town)is the hilly topography and
the way houses are positioned next to limestone walls often only feet from the side of
adjacent houses.Others are encased in limestone walls on terraced benches.Writing in
1881,E.D.Neill described the north hill around 1880:
87 Permit Application #1588 (On file:Stillwater Public Library).
88 Permit Application #16 (On file:Stillwater Public Library).
89 E.F.Barrett ,Stillwater City Directory (Stillwater:n.p.,1887),27.
90 Joseph E.Carroll ,Exploring of the Great Northwest and the St.Croix Valley (Stillwater :By the
Authoer ,1970),19.
45
Further up the north hill,more fine dwellings and the [Lincoln]school building.The
bluffs here have been cut down on Third Street about forty feet,varying somewhat to
suit the grade to the topography.A little to the west of the [Lincoln]school building
is Isaac Staples’residence,prominent on a point of the bluff in block 8,corner of
Cherry and Second streets,looking down on the lake,affording a magnificent view of
the entire lake.Here the once rugged and steep face of the bluff has been transformed
into a succession of giant steps,built of solid masonry,rising one above the other
until the summit is reached,on which the [Staples]residence is located.91
A prominent attribute of the North Hill (Original Town)is the limestone foundations
under many of the houses and the limestone walls along the sidewalks.Newton Horace
Winchell described the dolomitic limestone around Stillwater in volume one of his The
Geology of Minnesota in 1884:Dr.C.Carli opened a stone quarry at Stillwater in 1847
near the northern limits of the city and subsequent quarries were opened,operated by
Hersey,Staples and Hall and by Fayette Marsh beginning in 1854.In 1884,a Mr.
Conkling was operating Carli’s first quarry.Limestone blocks of 18-30 inches thick were
quarried locally,some coarse and dark-colored and used only for foundations and “heavy
masonry.”Other formations were “useful for all work,owing to its homogeneous and
granular but compact texture.”The local limestone was valued and used for “ashlers,
pilasters and copings,and for all common trimmings."92 All limestone walls in the
project area have been photographed during the current study along with the properties
with which they are associated.In several instances,the limestone walls along sidewalks
pre-date the current buildings,because older houses were removed,but the stone walls
remained,as is the case with the Mt.Vernon Apartments at 408 North Third.Good
examples of limestone walls along sidewalks on the North Hill (Original Town)also
include the fence around Pioneer Park on North Second,the Roney House at 510 North
Third,304-308 North Second,and a broken fence at 302 North Second.
91 Neill ,555 .
92 Newton Horace Winchell ,The Geology of Minnesota Volume 1 ,1884 ,555 .
46
Sometimes associated with the limestone walls or by themselves around property lines on
the North Hill (Original Town)are metal fences.Some are quite early and are wrought
iron.These are easy to spot because they are hairpin fences interlaced in U-shapes and
often with arrowheads or spiked spheres.This type of wrought iron was made by heating
the iron and then beating it into shape or bending it on a slab.Wrought iron of this type
is dense,relatively soft pure iron and resists rust.It differs from modem wrought iron in
that it is harder and lasts longer.Two examples of this early wrought iron fence type can
be seen along the sidewalks at 209 West Laurel and across West Laurel at 604 North
Fourth Street.If the old wrought iron fences are painted every five years,they should last
for at least 100 years.
What we call wrought iron today is usually a mild steel,not as hard and not as long-
lasting.Mild steel rapidly rusts because it has a high oxygen and carbon content.It
should be heavily galvanized,after which it will not hold paint.It is called wrought iron
because it is hand-worked.To take paint,it should be dipped in hot “red lead”and baked
dry.Even so,it needs painting every five years and may last for 50 years.One way to
tell the difference is to strike it.If it rings,its mild steel.Wrought iron does not ring
when stmck.The fence around the Linden Health Care Center at 322 North Third Street
is mild steel.
Another type of older fencing is cast iron.It can be seen in front of the Mt.Vernon Plaza
Apartments and is an example of a fence which survived when the house did not.This
was the site of the Louis E.Torinus House (later the Jones-Torinus Funeral Home)before
the apartments were built.The Torinus fence sits atop a low limestone block wall.The
cast iron Torinus fence is a fleur-de-lis pattern and is fairly low.Cast iron fences are
usually more ornate than wrought iron and are made from molds cast by hand.Cast iron
47
is brittle and does not bend easily.Although it rusts slowly,it should be protected with
paint.93
That some of these fences should be preserved goes without saying.According to a
resident of the project area,one antique shop on Main Street has told her they will buy
her hairpin wrought iron fence if she ever wants to sell it.94
Another visual quality of the North Hill (Original Town)comes from the nine houses in
the neighborhood with standing seam metal roofs.This constitutes ten per cent of the
properties surveyed.The number seems high given the plethora of companies turning out
millwork in Stillwater until around 1915.Wood shingles were certainly easy to come by
in Stillwater during the lumber era.However,in checking the city’s fire records,it
becomes clear that prior to 1910,chimney fires were common on the North Hill (Original
Town)and wood roofs caught on fire easily.Some of the damage from the April 1910
fire at the northeast end of the project area may well have begun when wood roofs caught
on fire.One resident of the neighborhood recalls hearing from an old-timer that a metal
roof salesman came through the neighborhood years ago and sold to several residents.95
It is known that rolled metal roofs were quite popular in Minnesota on early houses and
some of them date to the 1850s.
Metal roofs were made of zinc-coated sheet iron,called tin,measured in gauge or
thickness in thousandths of an inch (.012 to .08).It was manufactured in rolled or sheet
form and was secured to the wooden roof deck with tin cleats.Copper was done the same
way,but was more expensive.Joints were made by bending the sheets together to form a
93 Carolyn Pitts ,Michael Fish,Hugh J .McCauley ,and Trina Vaux .The Cape May Handbook
(Philadelphia :The Athenaeum of Philadelphia,1977),36,37 .
94 Nancy Ristow ,personal communication,June 11 ,1995 .
95 Ristow .
48
seam or fold which was then fluxed with acid and soldered with a molten lead and zinc
compound.
Tin roofs should also be painted with thick “red lead”paint every ten years and should be
kept rust-free.With such maintenance,a tin roof should last for 100 years.Maintenance
and repair should be done by an experienced contractor who has proper equipment.This
work tends to be expensive.Worn-out metal roofs should not be reshingled with asphalt
or other roofing without removing the original roof.Any painter or repairer should be
careful not to make holes in a metal roof which would cause leaks.96
It is not possible to determine the ages of the metal roofs in the project area nor when and
if they have been painted.The following homes have standing seam metal roofs.Their
roofs should be assumed to be historic unless proven otherwise:
•315 North Third Street
•423 North Third Street
•424 North Third Street
•420 North Third Street
•503 North Fourth Street
•611 North Fifth Street
•102 East Cherry Street
•209 West Laurel Street
•222 West Laurel Street.
96 Pitts et al ,45 .
49
V.RECOMMENDATIONS
1.No properties in the project area have been found to be eligible (preliminarily)to the
National Register of Historic Places,for either architecture or history.The Sauntry
Recreation Hall and the Ivory and Sophia McKusick House are outstanding examples of
the Moorish style and the French Second Empire style.
2.There is a type of district that is non-contiguous which might be considered by the
Stillwater HPC for some of the early houses on the North Hill (Original Town).It might
be a discontinuous architectural district representing outstanding local examples of early
architectural styles.
The criteria for such a city-wide discontinuous district or series of districts by HPPAs,
could borrow from the criteria used for the Centennial Homes program in Duluth.
Houses should not be resided or stuccoed .Rear or side additions would not disqualify a
house automatically,but such alterations should not be visually intrusive from the street.
And houses in such a district must have outstanding historical architectural integrity,not
be in poor repair,and reflect the pre-1880 development of Stillwater as a river town.
Although the cut-off for houses in the statewide context of “Early Agriculture and River
Settlement”is 1870,there is no particular reason that the Stillwater HPC need to adopt
this particular year.Two suggestions would be a cut-off of 1875 or 1880.The owners
would also have to provide proof by showing an Abstract of Title to determine the
original owner and date of construction.The Greek Revival style house at 402 North
Fourth would not be eligible,because of the double-bay garage in front which is visually
intrusive.The house at 604 North Fourth would also not be eligible because of the ca.
1904 Classical revival screened porch.
The following six houses on the North Hill (Original Town)are offered for such a local
district:
50
1.House,424 North Third (ca.1865)Italianate
2.James and Elizabeth Roney House,510 North Third (ca.1867)Italianate
3.A.C.and Aurora Hospes House,303 North Fourth (1882-3)Queen Anne
4.House,611 North Fifth (ca.1860s-70s)Italianate/Bracketted
5.Andrew &Anna Olson House,107 East Laurel (1860,1878 rear addition)Greek
Revival
6.James Heffernan House,122 West Linden (ca.1854-72?)Italianate/Bracketted
A significant number of homes on the North Hill (Original Town)have been restored or
rehabilitated.If the object is to maintain the neighborhood as it is and with houses in
good repair,the Centennial Homes project in Duluth seems like a better idea than a local
Conservation District.The Duluth program is also cheaper to operate and less heavy-
handed for home owners.Descriptions of these programs are included in Appendix C.
3.As the HPPAs are subjected to intensive study,a mosaic will emerge on the residential
history and architecture of Stillwater.It will be difficult in the meantime to determine
which buildings may be significant on a local level.
4.The Stillwater HPC might want to consider encouraging the preservation of the stone
walls and metal fences associated with properties on the North Hill (Original Town).
They give character to the neighborhood.Wrought iron and cast iron fences are valuable
and sought on the antique market.They should not be removed from the neighborhood
and residents should be encouraged to retain and maintain them.
51
VI.APPENDICES
52
APPENDIX A
LIST OF INVENTORIED PROPERTIES
53
APPENDIX A
LIST OF INVENTORIED PROPERTIES
Key :
(S)=Sanborn Insurance maps
(CA)=County Assessor
RTR =River Town Restorations source
?=Question about likely date or original owner
Historic Name Address Date BuiltInventoryNo.PIN
Stillwater Public
Library
223 North 4th StreetWA-SWC-200 10691-4192 1902
(1972-
1973
additions)
Ascension Episcopal
Church offices
215 North 4th StreetWA-SWC-201 10691-4193 ca.1904-
1910 (S)
WA-SWC-207 209 North 3rd Street 10691-4100 ca.1910-
1924 (S)
House
WA-SWC-208 215 North 3rd Street 10691-4130 Post-1924House
(S)
219 North 3rd StreetWA-SWC-209 House 10691-4160 Post-1924
(S)
First Church of
Christ,Scientist
231 North 3rd StreetWA-SWC-210 9341-2000,2020 1925-1929
WA-SWC-373 302 North 2nd StreetHouse 10690-6500 1928 (CA)
Riverview
Townhomes
WA-SWC-374 304-308 North 2nd
Street
10690-6405,1994
6407
Riverview
Townhomes
WA-SWC-375 312-316 North 2nd
Street
10690-6350,1994
6400
WA-SWC-376 320 North 2nd StreetHouse 10690-6300 1858 (CA)
54
Ole and Carrie
Swanson House
WA-SWC-377 402 North 2nd Street 10690-4550 1898
WA-SWC-378 House 416 North 2nd Street 10690-4100,1929 (CA)
4600
WA-SWC-379 Ivory E.&Sophia
McKusick House
504 North 2nd Street 10690-3500 1866 or
1868?
WA-SWC-380 Edwin G.Butts
House
516 North 2nd Street 10690-3400 1879-80
Pioneer ParkWA-SWC-381 xxx North 2nd Street 10690-3725 1935
Robert O.and Carol
V.Norgren House
WA-SWC-382 303 North 3rd Street 10690-6550 1956 (CA)
WA-SWC-383 House 304 North 3rd Street 10690-6050 1875 (CA)
308 North 3rd StreetWA-SWC-384 House 10690-6000 1882 (CA)
311 North 3rd StreetWA-SWC-385 House 10690-6650 1860 (CA)
WA-SWC-386 315 North 3rd StreetHouse 10690-6700 1857 (CA)
Joel B.Waalen
House?
WA-SWC-387 319 North 3rd Street 1957 (CA)10690-6800,
6750
Linden Health Care
Center
WA-SWC-388 322 North 3rd Street 10690-5900 1970-71
WA-SWC-389 House 323 North 3rd Street 1966 (CA)10690-6850
WA-SWC-390 Samuel Register
House
401 North 3rd Street 10690-4450 1858 (CA)
WA-SWC-391 Mt.Vernon Plaza
Apartments
408 North 3rd Street 10500-2000,1970 (CA)
3325
WA-SWC-392 Samuel Register
House ?
411 North 3rd Street 10690-4400 1878 (CA)
WA-SWC-393 415 North 3rd StreetHouse 10690-4350 1868 (CA)
WA-SWC-394 419 North 3rd StreetHouse 10690-4300 1888 (CA)
55
423 North 3rd StreetWA-SWC-395 House 10690-4250 1868 (CA)
WA-SWC-396 424 North 3rd Street 10690-4650 1865 (CA)House
James and Elizabeth
Roney House.
510 North 3rd StreetWA-SWC-397 10690 -3350 1867-68;
(additions
1877,
1886)
517 North 3rd Street 1919 CA)WA-SWC-398 House 10690-3500
518 North 3rd Street 1882 (CA)WA-SWC-399 George M.Seymour
House?
10690-3050
606 North 3rd Street 1941 (CA)Hedberg House 10320-2150WA-SWC-400
Allen &Geraldine
Connel House
610 North 3rd Street 1940 (CA)WA-SWC-401 10320-2100
Lawrence W.Linner
House
613 North 3rd Street 1929 (CA)W,-SWC-402 11085-2050
Reuben &Rachael
Carlson House
618 North 3rd Street 10320-2050 1941 (CA)WA-SWC-403
621 North 3rd Street 1927 (CA)William &Dora
Magnusson House
11085-2000WA-SWC-404
Wendell &Ruth
Beardsley House
622 North 3rd Street 1940 (CA)WA-SWC -405 10320-2000
224 North 4th StreetCatholicPriests’
Home;(John P.
Fitzgerald was first
owner after 1894
move and probable
redo.)
10691-4340 1858WA-SWC -406
(CA);
Moved 6/
1894 to
present
site
WA-SWC-407 City Hall parking lot Rear of 224 N.4th 10691-4341 None
303 North 4th Street 1883 (CA)WA-SWC-408 A.C.&Aurora
Hospes House
10690-6100
1909 (CA)WA-SWC-409 306 North 4th Street 10690-5700House
56
10690-5660314North4thStreetSwedishEvangelical
Mission Church
Parsonage
WA-SWC-410 1904
320 North 4th StreetSwedishEvangelical
Mission Church
10690 -5655 1904WA-SWC-411
321 North 4th Street 10690 -6200 1892WA-SWC -412 Emma or Erma
Webster House
324 North 4 th Street 1860s?WA-SWC-413 10690-5650House
402 North 4th Street 1868 (CA)Josiah and Lydia
Staples House
10690-5100WA-SWC-414
Jon and Mary Lowell
House?
410 North 4th Street 1868 (CA)10690-5350WA-SWC -415
1868 (CA )414 North 4th StreetWA-SWC-416 10690-5300House
1888NelsMaceHouse?420 North 4th Street 10690-5200WA-SWC-417
(CA);
Ben Thelan House 10690-5250 ca.1888-
91 (S)
(1868)
424 North 4th StreetWA-SWC -418
1856 (CA)503 North 4th Street 10690-3200WA-SWC-419 House
1923515North4thStreet10690-3150WA-SWC-420 House
604 North 4th Street 1868 (CA)John G.Nelson
House
10690-2400WA-SWC -421
605 North 4th Street 1941 (CA)James S.&Beatrice
Klund House
10320-2200WA-SWC-422
1991 (CA)Joseph W.Hromatka
House
609 North 4 th Street 10320-2250WA-SWC-423
1914 (CA)A.W.Magnusson
House
614 North 4th Street 10690-2600WA-SWC-424
615 North 4th Street 1939 (CA)WA-SWC-425 Knute E.Fransen
House
10320-2300
57
Thomas and Grace
Stanek House
WA-SWC-426 1950 (CA)619 North 4th Street 10320 -2350
626 North 4th Street 10690 -2700WilliamSauntry
House
1880,
1886,
1894,
WA-SWC-427
1902
xxx North 5th StreetCityandState-
owned lots (2)
10690 -5750,NoneWA-SWC-428
5850
ca.1860s-611 North 5th Street 10690-2550JohnMcLeerHouseWA-SWC-429
10690 -2650 1902625North5thStreetWA-SWC-430 William Sauntry
Recreation Hall
1868 (CA)102 East Cherry
Street
10690-3550WA-SWC-431 House
1868 (CA)110 East Cherry
Street
10690-3600J.B.Sanborn
House?
WA-SWC-432
1872 (CA)113 East Cherry
Street
10690-4200Abe&Lettie Hall
House?
WA-SWC -433
1848 (CA)10690-3650114EastCherry
Street
McKusick House?WA-SWC-434
191010690-4150119EastCherry
Street
John C.&Cora
Nethaway House
WA-SEC-435
1872 (CA)10690-3300110WestCherry
Street
WA-SWC-436 House
1880 (CA )10690-4700111WestCherry
Street
WA-SWC-437 House
1894117WestCherry
Street
10690 -4800CharlesH.Rhodes
(Rhoads)House
WA-SWC-438
(1878)
1876-77 in
city dir.)
10690-3250JamesandEllen
Lane House
118 West Cherry
Street
WA-SWC-439
58
WA-SWC-440 House 121 West Cherry
Street
10690-4850 1872 (CA)
WA-SWC-441 House 204 West Cherry
Street
10690-2800 1872 (CA)
WA-SWC-442 House 212 West Cherry
Street
10690-2850 1872 (CA)
WA-SWC-443 House 213 West Cherry
Street
1952 (CA)10690-5550
WA-SWC-444 House 221 West Cherry
Street
10690-5600 1891-1898
(S)
WA-SWC-445 Asa W.Pattee
House?
222 West Cherry
Street
1878 (CA)10690-2900
Hollis Murdock
House
210 E.Laurel StreetWA-SWC-446 1859+
additions
WA-SWC-447 Joseph S.Simonett
House
106 East Laurel
Street
1928 (CA)11085-2100
Andrew Olson
House
WA-SWC-448 107 East Laurel
Street
10690-3450 1860;
1878 (CA)
Osborne E.O.
Conrad House
118 East Laurel
Street
1928 (CA)WA-SWC-449 11085-2150
111-113 West Laurel
Street
WA-SWC-450 George Seymour?
Carriage House for
518 N.3rd Street.
10690-3100 pre-1888
(S)
Bam for house at
204 W.Cherry
WA-SWC-451 209 West Laurel
Street
10690-2750 ca.1872
WA-SWC-452 215 West Laurel
Street
10690-3000House Pre-1888
(S)
WA-SWC-453 218 West Laurel
Street
House 10690-2450 1878 (CA)
WA-SWC-454 221 West Laurel
Street
1872 (CA)House 10690-2950
59
222 West Laurel
Street
Dan Fry House Pre-1888WA-SWC -455 10690 -2500
(S)
1870 (CA)House (moved to site
in April 1903)
114 East Linden
Street
10690 -4500WA-SWC-456
Appl #
18=1868;
1865 (CA)
115 East Linden
Street
Simon House?
Moved 20'east in
1904
10690-6250WA-SWC-457
1883 (CA)117 West Linden
Street
10690-6150HouseWA-SWC-458
Pre-1884120WestLinden
Street
10690-4900,
4950,5000
James Heffernan
Building
WA-SWC-459
(S)
1872/(same as above)122 West Linden
Street
James Heffernan
House-1865?RTR
WA-SWC-460
1854
1895208WestLinden
Street
10690 -5150LydiaE.(Mrs.
Josiah)Staples
House
WA-SWC-461
1878 (CA)217 West Linden
Street
10690-5800E.D .&Permelia
House
WA-SWC -462
Post-1884-
pre-1888
218 West Linden
Street
10690 -5400WA-SEC-463 House
(S)
1878 (CA)224 West Linden
Street
10690 -5450HouseWA-SWC -464
1860110EastMulberry
Street
10690-6600,WA-SWC-465 House
(CA);Pre-
1884 (S)
3920
60
APPENDIX B
BIBLIOGRAPHY
61
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Albertson,Howard."Tour of the Interiors of Traditional Houses of Stillwater."Walking
tour brochure,September 27,1972.
Andreas,Alfred T.An Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Minnesota.Chicago :
Charles Shober and Company.,1874.
Bailey,A.Minnesota Railroad and River Guide for 1867-68.St.Paul:J.Marshall
Wolfe,1867.
Bakeman,Mary Hawker.“List of Inhabitants in the Town of Stillwater,1853.Extracted
by Mary Hawker Bakeman.”Minnesota Genealogical Journal 9 (March 1993):
895-900.
Barrett,E.F.Stillwater City Directory.Stillwater,1887.
Buck,Anita.Marginal comments of a March 13,1995 first draft of this report.
Bunn and Philippi.Stillwater City Directory.Stillwater:Sun Printing Company,1884.
Caplazi,Paul."Paper on Early Stillwater Days."Typescript,April,1944.On file:
Stillwater Public Library.
Carroll,Joseph E.Exploring of the Great Northwest and the St.Croix Valley.Stillwater:
Joe Carroll,January,1970.
City of Stillwater .Charter &Ordinances of 1858,Stillwater.On file:Minnesota
Historical Society.
City of Stillwater.Ordinance of 1871,Stillwater.On file:Minnesota Historical Society.
Dunn,James Taylor.Valley of the St.Croix Picturesque ,Second.Ed.Croixside Press,
1970.
Easton,Augustus B.,ed.History of the St.Croix Valley,Illustrated.Vol .1.Chicago:H.
C.Cooper,Jr.&Co.,1909.
Eggleston,Edward.Papers.Minnesota Historical Society.
Erickson,John G.and Elizabeth.Burial places of Washington County XL:Small,lost
and abandoned cemeteries."Stillwater Burying Ground,."127.In:Minnesota
Genealogist (September 1990).21(3):127-131.
"Fires $1,000 or Over."12 pp typescript.Stillwater Fire Chiefs office,rear of Stillwater
City Hall.
62
Fire records (1893-1945).On file:Stillwater Fire Department,Stillwater City Hall.
Flanagan,John T.“The Hoosier Schoolmaster in Minnesota.”Minnesota History 18:4
(December 1947),347-370.
Folsom,William H.C.Fifty Years in the Northwest.Edited by E.E.Edwards.St.Paul:
Pioneer Press Co.,1888.
.“History of Lumbering in the St.Croix Valley,with Biographical
Sketches.”Minnesota Historical Society Collections.(1901)9:291-324.
Groff &Bailey.Minnesota Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1865.St.Paul:Groff
&Bailey,publishers,1865.
Harvey,Tom.Washington County Multiple Resource Area:“Historic Resources of
Washington County (Partial Inventory —Historic Properties.”[See individual
inventory forms on William Sauntry Residence &Recreation Hall,and Ivory
McKusick House,in the North Hill (Original Town)project area,entered on the
National Register April 20,1982.St.Paul:State Historic Preservation Office,
1981.
Kennedy,Roger.“Houses of the St.Croix Valley.”Minnesota History 38 :8.(December
1963),337-352.
Larson,Agnes.History of the White Pine Industry in Minnesota.University of
Minnesota Press :Minneapolis,1949.
Lutz,Josephine.“Old Stillwater:an Exhibition of Historic Landmarks,”ca.1948.On
file:Pamphlet Collection,Minnesota Historical Society.[Exhibit pamphlet
without water colors].
McCluer,Helen Jencks.McCluer Family Scrapbooks and Clippings Relating to
Stillwater.On file:Archives,Minnesota Historical Society.
Morris,Marya.Innovative Tools for Historic Preservation.Planning Advisory Service
Report Number 438.Chicago:American Planning Association,1992.
Neill,Edward D.History of Washington County and the St.Croix Valley.Minneapolis:
North Star Publishing Company,1881.
Newton,H.E.&Co.Minnesota State Business Directory.N.p.:H.E.Newton &Co.,
1873.On file:Minnesota Historical Society.
Permit Applications and City Index to Permit applications,approximately 1886-1910
(incomplete).On file:Stillwater Public Library.
63
Peterson,Brent T.and Dean R.Thilgen.Stillwater,A Photographic History (1843-
1993).Stillwater:Valley History Press,1992.
Photographs —Houses.Washington County Historical Society.[Most of the house
pictures were being copied by Brent Peterson and were not available for
inspection by the author of this report.]
Pitts,Carolyn,Michael Fish,Hugh J.McCauley,Trina Vaux.The Cape May Handbook.
Philadelphia:The Athenaeum of Philadelphia,1977.
Plat Book of Washington County,Minnesota,compiled from county records and actual
surveys.Philadelphia:Northwest Publishing Company,1901.
Polk,R.L,.&Co.Dual City Business Directory,including Anoka,Dakota,Hennepin,
Ramsey,and Washington counties.Minneapolis:R.L.Polk &Co.,1889-90.
Polk,R.L,.&Co.Stillwater City Directory.St.Paul:R.L.Polk &Co.,1890/91-1987.
On file:Stillwater Public Library and Minnesota Historical Society.
Pryor and Company.Stillwater City Directory.St.Paul,1876-77.
River Town Restoration Walking Tour Guide Booklet,Stillwater,1975,1982,1983,
1987,1991,1988.On file:St.Croix Collection,Stillwater Public Library.
Roberts,Norene and John A.Fried.Historical Reconstruction of the Riverfront:
Stillwater,Minnesota.For the St.Paul Corps of Engineers,July 1985.
Ristow,Nancy.Personal communication,June 11,1995.
Rollins,Jo Lutz.“Stillwater bicentennial Art Project.”n.d.(ca.1976).On file:
Minnesota Historical Society,[includes write-up and water color reproductions of
the Andrew Olson House,106 (sic.)107 East Laurel;the James Heffeman House,
122 West Linden;and the Judge Hollis Murdock House,210 East Laurel],
Roney;Betty.Personal communication,March 2,1995.
Roney,Edgar L.Looking Backward.,A Compilation of More Than A Century of St.
Croix Valley History.Stillwater:Privately published,1970.
Rosenfelt,William E.,ed.Washington:A History of the Minnesota County,A Project of
the Washington County Historical Society.Stillwater:The Croixside Press,1977.
Ruger,A."Birds'Eye View of the City of Stillwater.”Chicago:Merchant 's Lithograph
Company.On file:Audio-Visual Department,Minnesota Historical Society,
MW49/ST l /pl 3.
Runk Photograph Collection,Minnesota Historical Society.
64
St.Michael’s Church,1875-1975,Stillwater,Minnesota.LeMann and Associates:
Skokie,Illinois.
St.Croix Union postal card index,1855-57.St.Croix Room,Stillwater Public Library.
St.Croix Valley.“Stillwater Homes.”Washington County Heart Unit.Tour,September
24,1975.
Sanborn Insurance Atlas.Stillwater,Minnesota.New York:Sanborn Map
Publishing Co.,1884,1888,1891,1898,1904,1910,1924,1961.On file:
Minnesota Historical Society.
Scrapbooks.Washington County Historical Society.
Singley,Grover.Tracing Minnesota’s Old Government Roads.Minnesota Historic Sites
Pamphlet series No.10.St.Paul:Minnesota Historical Society,1974.
Stillwater,Minnesota.New York:Sanborn Map Publishing Co.,1924 updated to 1956
On file:City of Stillwater.
Stillwater Bicentennial Commission."The Official Tour of Stillwater Historic Sites",
Walking and auto tour brochure,Stillwater:The Croixside Press,1978,second
printing,revised.
Stillwater City Directory.Minneapolis:C.W.Davison,1881-2;1882-3.
Stillwater Daily Gazette ,Special Edition,August 22,1904.On file:Minnesota
Historical Society.
Stillwater,Minnesota.City Directory Death Listings,1894-1942.On file:Washington
County Historical Society.
Stillwater,Minnesota,The Metropolis of the St.Croix Valley.St.Paul:Railway
Publishing Company,1903.(re:William Sauntry house and biography).
Subject Index,Stillwater Gazette,August 1870-July 23,1872.On file:St.Croix
Collection,Stillwater Public Library.
Supplement to the Stillwater Post-Messenger ,June 27,1935.
Swenson,Esther E.A Bridge in the Valley.Minneapolis,1973.Typescript on file:St.
Croix Room,Stillwater Public Library.
Thilgen,Dean R."Genealogical research facilities in Stillwater,Minnesota—150 years of
recordkeeping."Minnesota Genealogist 24 (September 1993):100-104.
Vertical Files (buildings and people).St.Croix Room,Stillwater Public Library.
65
The Valley of the St.Croix,Picturesque and Descriptive.Stillwater:The Croixside Press,
1970.First published at Neenah,Wisconsin,1888.
Vogel,Robert C.“Stillwater Historic Contexts:A Comprehensive Planning Approach.”
Stillwater:Stillwater Heritage Preservation Commission,July 1993.
Washington County Platbook .Minneapolis:Hudson Map Company,1926.
Washington County Platbook.Minneapolis:Hudson Map Company,1938.
Winchell,Newton Horace.The Geology of Minnesota.Vol.1 1884:555.
Zahn,Thomas R.&Associates.The City of Faribault Downtown Design Guidelines.
Faribault:Faribault Heritage Preservation Commission,June 1993.
Zellie,Carole.Dayton's Bluff Historic District Study.St.Paul:St.Paul Heritage
Preservation Commission,1991.
.A Study of Conservation Districts.Prepared for the St.Paul,Minnesota,
Heritage Preservation Commission,June 1991.
66
APPENDIX C
CONSERVATION DISTRICTS
AND THE “CENTENNIAL HOMES”PROGRAM
67
By city ordinance dated June 15,1987,amended March 20,1990,the City of Stillwater
established a Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC)in order to safeguard the heritage
of the community through identification and registration of properties within the city
limits.The HPC is charged with protecting and enhancing the city’s appeal,educating
the community on the cultural values and economic benefits of historic preservation.
The Stillwater Heritage Preservation Site Programs must:
•serve the needs of the community and promote cultural values and economic benefits
relative to property use;
•preserve the quality of environments and encourage mutual public and private
investment in the quality of the built environment;
•recognize that public planning is a comprehensive and long-range building process
and is evolutionary in its own right;
•define process,design guidelines and resources available to property owners,
including financial incentives,local material resource management and local city
government commitment to the “improvement”district in terms of tax relief,public
infrastructure improvements per HPPA as part of a mutual improvement pact in the
HPPA;
•must put forth a long range preservation plan or general improvement plan defining
public intent,economic incentives,and desired outcomes as a long-range economic
and community development tool.
The City Ordinance setting up the Stillwater HPC allows for acquisitions,through
eminent domain or outright purchase of properties.Not stipulated in the city ordinance is
facade easements to a “qualified organization”such as the Preservation Alliance of
Minnesota (a private non-profit Minnesota organization)or a “governmental entity.”
Charitable contributions are a third possible tool.
Questions:
Can all 10 HPPAs be surveyed together so that a comprehensive citywide
preservation/improvement plan be generated?Otherwise,the alternative is to generate
general guidelines now and HPPA-specific guidelines as subsequent HPPAs are
inventoried and studied.
What is the current status or involvement by the Stillwater HPC in residential (as opposed
to commercial)permit review?
68
How would the HPC enforce/control/induce retention or removal of historic features
without financial incentives for non-commercial properties (i.e.residential owner-
occupied)?Does the Stillwater HPC currently conduct permit review on the residences
currently listed on the national Register?Is there any grassroots support in the
neighborhoods for permit review?Is RTR a possibility in getting something started?
How might design review of residential properties differ from design review of
commercial properties downtown where design guidelines are based on the Secretary of
the Interior ’s Guidelines for Rehabilitation and Restoration and the attendant 20%
Investment Tax Credit?
What percentage of properties in each HPPA are rental and therefore income-producing?
Does this make a difference in how a preservation incentive program might be structured
for each HPPA?
What percentage of business activity is tied to tourism and recreation in Stillwater?Do
these factors affect the residential neighborhoods (e.g.in fostering neighborhood pride in
the residential building stock)?Have the RTR tour guides been generally well-received
in the neighborhoods?How much support do house tours have in Stillwater?Are there
drawbacks such as increased traffic on residential streets?
NEIGHBORHOOD CONSERVATION DISTRICT PROGRAMS
Overview
These programs are developed to protect neighborhoods which lack historical or
architectural significance under the National Register program and therefore do not
qualify for National Register status.Known Conservation District Programs are built on
one of two models:The Neighborhood Planning Model (e.g.:Phoenix AZ,Austin TX)
and the Architecture and Preservation Model (e.g.:Tacoma WA,Nashville TN,and
Bozeman MT).Neighborhood Conservation District Programs are most effective as a
partnership between residents and public or private funding agencies.They establish
broad planning goals for all HPPAs and include residents of each HPPA to establish
neighborhood-specific goals.Community involvement spells success.
Conservation Ordinances
Begin by full examination of conservation districts in the U.S.and develop a pilot
program in the first HPPA.
Program goals could be established to include historic preservation,preserving
neighborhood character,maintaining,stabilizing,and enhancing property values
(depending on the administering agency).The program could be administered by a
local historical agency (like an HPC)or by the local planning or zoning agency.
69
Program goals should be designed with the relevance of each HPPA in mind (such as
maintaining character-defining streescapes,as well as safe,affordable housing).
Taxpayer consent :How are conservation districts selected for eligibility in the
program?Should participation be voluntary?What percentage of the district is rental
property?How is consent obtained?Are age,architectural significance,and historic
integrity relevant selection criteria?
What are the procedures for designation as a conservation district?Does this fall
under the city’s preservation ordinance?Once designated,which activities are
regulated?What penalties are levied for non-conformance?
Incentives:Who develops the incentive package and what are the incentives?How
important are incentives to the success of the “improvement”package?
To what extent would a conservation district program overlap,contradict,or erode
existing programs in a residential area?
Qualitative Selection Criteria
The conservation district should not be eligible as a National Register district.
Neighborhood participation is the key.
Visual character of the conservation district is consistent.
Building type in the conservation district is consistent.
Building condition in the conservation district should be reasonably “good.”
Quantitative Selection Criteria
Zoning and use:80%should be residential.
Occupancy:a minimum of 80%should be occupied/not more than 20%vacant.
Project size:optimum size is 20-80 square blocks.
Median Income level:low to moderate
Owner support:60%on site,40%owners sign petition
Age of building stock :80%of properties must be at least 40 years old.
Incentives for Neighborhood Conservation Districts fNCDl
NCD staff are a resource and liaison between the community and city agencies.
70
NCD revolving fund provides low interest loans or grants where design guidelines are
more demanding
NCDs have broad-based guidelines for all districts/potential districts in a city with
supplemental guidelines tied to established financial incentives.
Community-based outreach workshops assist residents with conservation projects.
Such endeavors might include discounts or aid from local merchants and materials
suppliers.
Administration
Regulation and Permit Review:Project administration shared between the local Housing
and Community Development Agency/or possibly HPC (for design review)and the
Department of Inspections (regulation and permit review).
Administering agency :prepares written and graphic conservation guidelines (for each
HPPA or universal standards for the entire city),possibly with community involvement.
[Do the Secretary of Interior’s Standards on Rehear,and Restoration offer general
guidelines which could be adapted to all districts in the city?Could those standards be
adapted or relaxed for residential non-income producing properties?]
Oversight Committee:Might consist of a Neighborhood Conservation District Review
Board with appointments representing relevant city agencies and neighborhood groups.
How would this impinge on existing Stillwater HPC prerogatives?Is this redundant?
Could this potential structure interface with the Stillwater HPC and how?
Conclusions
Neighborhoods define their needs and goals within the broad-based community
framework previously established.They nominate themselves to become a conservation
district through a neighborhood association,defined as a grassroots improvement effort.
This process allows for public notification and comment.
Conservation guidelines are designed to allow for flexibility.They go beyond traditional
preservation controls and programs (as defined by the National Register program).
A Conservation District Program acts as an inclusive,neighborhood-specific program,as
well as a long-range planning tool.
A Conservation District Program improves the quality of the built environment,
maintains property values and requires a mutual public and private investment in the
economic and environmental health of the community.
The most useful book found on the issue of a conservation district is:
71
Myra Morris,Innovative Tools for Historic Preservation .Planning Advisory Service
of the American Planning Association (1992).A photocopy of this publication was
sent to Ann Pung-Terwedo in April,1995.Apparently ,this publication was published
with the assistance from the Critical Issues Fund of the National Trust for Historic
Preservation.It is approximately 40 pages long and can be purchased by writing to the
American Planning Association at 13 E.60th Street ,Chicago IL 60637.
72
“CENTENNIAL HOMES”PROGRAM,DULUTH,MINNESOTA
Marlene Workman at the Washington County Courthouse suggested in a March,1995
review of this draft report that Stillwater may want to look into the Centennial Homes
program in Duluth and sent information to Mr.Jeff Johnson,Chair of the Stillwater
Heritage Preservation Commission.
The Duluth HPC began the program two years ago as a recognition program to preserve
and maintain 100 year old houses in the city.There are no incentives and no financial
aid.It is simply a “thank you”to homeowners who take care of their older houses and
maintain the architecture of the property.The cost to the city is minimal:some HPC
staff time and photocopying costs.Each year in May during Preservation Week,the city
has an award ceremony to those who meet the criteria for the program.In the two years
since the program was initiated,the awards ceremony has been a lunch or an evening
party with hors d’oeurves.
Here’s how it works :In January or February,announcements are made on the local radio
station that the Commission is taking applications.Owners nominate their own
properties by filling out a one-page application.They must be able to present proof that
their property is 100 years old.Usually,they bring in an Abstract of Title,and an HPC
member checks to make sure the house is at least 100 years old.
The criteria are “minimal,”according to Jill Fisher,Senior Planner and contact for the
Duluth HPC.They are:
1.A building must be originally residential (at present ,carriage houses are not eligible).
2.A building must be documented to be 100 years old.
3 .The architectural character must be apparent.
4.The building can have additions or alterations,if the architectural character has not
been compromised.
5.A resided building is not automatically disqualified if the architectural character is not
compromised.
6 .A building must have no deferred maintenance.
7.A building must be a model or good example of how to care for older homes.
In the two years since the program began,people have been pleased to be on the
Centennial Homes list and appreciated being thanked by the city for doing something
right.Further information may be obtained through Jill Fisher,Senior Planner,Duluth
Heritage Preservation Commission,City of Duluth,409 City Hall,Duluth,Minnesota
55802-1197.(218)723-3328.
73