Heirloom Home

Jotham and Mary Lowell House

 

Lowell is one of the most recognized names in Stillwater, commemorated in the famous Lowell Inn, and also Lowell Park along the riverfront. There were four Lowell brothers who came from Concord, Maine to settle in Stillwater in the 1850s. They were William Lowell (1807-1873), Jotham Grant Lowell (1816-1886), Albert Lowell (1819-1888, and John Lowell (1824-1885). The four brothers fathered 18 children who intermarried with other prominent--and not so prominent--families of Stillwater.

This story is about one of the brothers, Jotham Grant Lowell and his wife, Mary (Merrill) Lowell who had the house at 410 North Fourth Street built in 1874. They had purchased the lot in July of that year from Josiah and Lydia Staples who lived next door at 402 North Fourth Street. (Josiah Staples’ sister, Elizabeth Staples, was married to Jotham’s older brother, William Lowell.) The building date of this house is indisputable because the tax assessor’s records for 1874 contain the penciled note: "$1300 added for house."

Jotham married Mary in Solon, Maine, in 1843; they came to Stillwater in 1856 with their two daughters, Lucy and Mary Augusta. Jotham established a general store downtown, however, after the economic crash of the late 1850s, he was forced to move his business to Hastings about 1861. While living in Hastings his oldest daughter, Lucy Dinsmore, died in 1865.

He remained in business in Hastings until returning to Stillwater in the early ‘70s where he opened another grocery store at 110 N. Main Street in partnership with James Hanson. (See the Hanson house at 704 S. 1st St.) In the 1880s, Jotham’s health declined and he died from tuberculosis on March 30, 1886. His wife, Mary, remained in the house at 410 North Fourth Street until her death on May 20, 1894, at the age of 76.

The only remaining member of the family, their daughter, Mary Augusta had married a local businessman, Frederick Flint, and the two of them took up residence in the house. After Frederick’s death in December of 1904, Mary remained in the house until her death in January of 1940. In her later years, she was joined in the house by her first cousin, Adda Francis Lowell, who had married Charles Staples: Charles and "Addie" had lived for many years up the block at 424 North Fourth Street. Another boarder around the turn of the century was also a first cousin, Elmore Lowell, the man responsible for Lowell Park.

In the decades after Mary Augusta’a death, the house gradually deteriorated until it was abandoned and derelict. The City of Stillwater acquired it in 1993, and, in a remarkable act of historic preservation, offered the house for sale at a nominal price to someone who would return it to its former grandeur. Rolf Dittmann and Jill Greenhalgh purchased the house and spent two years and many dollars renovating much of the house. In 2004, Murray and Heidi McAllister purchased the house at a fair market price- a preservation success story!

The McAllister’s, who cherish the soul of their old house, have continued to restore and renovate this 135 year old home. They added a small back porch with spindles and columns hand turned to match those on the front porch. Inside they restored original white pine flooring and added salvaged pine where missing. They had a router knife made to replicate the missing original trim, and replaced the non-original panes of glass with restoration glass. They have done extensive maintenance outside, including excavating the back of the house and adding a native limestone retaining wall and patio, building a carriage style garage and painting the exterior using a Greek Revival palette. If the Lowell family could return, they would be very pleased with the restored and refurbished home.

Today this prominent home, sitting high on the hill overlooking the river, is a wonderful example of a successful preservation. The triangular gable in the front, which can also be seen on the south gable of the house at 420 North Fourth Street, is reminiscent of the Greek Revival style. But most of the elements are characteristic of what was the new style of the 1870s, the Italianate. The brackets and dentils under the eaves; the two-pane over two-pane windows; the double front door with its transom window above, and the projecting window bay are the features that define the Italianate style in Stillwater. The front porch, which compliments the house so nicely, was added later, between 1898 and 1904, according to the historical maps.

Source(s): Information complied by Donald Empson, Empson Archives on 2/3/2009. Building date and value is from the original annual tax assessors’ rolls, 1874 (on microfilm in the St. Croix Collection, Stillwater Public Library). The Stillwater City Directories for 1877, 1887, 1894, and 1914 helped trace the family. The 1870 and 1879 Bird’s Eye View maps illustrate the house--or the lack thereof. The 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 U.S. Census name the residents of the house. There are obituaries of Jotham in the Messenger, April 3, 1886, and the Stillwater Gazette, March 30, 1886. The Sanborn Insurance maps between 1888 and 1924 illustrate the footprint of the house. The Lowell family genealogy is in Historic Genealogy of the Lowells of America from 1639 to 1899, compiled and edited by Delmar R. Lowell, published by the author in Rutland, Vermont, 1899. The house is mentioned as an improvement in the city for 1874 in the Stillwater Gazette, January 6, 1875.

Washington County Parcel Identification Number (PIN): 2803020130168

Common Property Name: Jotham and Mary Lowell House

Neighborhood: North Hill (Original Town)

State Historic Preservation Office Inventory Number: WA-SWC-1711

Construction Date: 1874

Builder:

Architect:

Architectural Style: Italianate