Heirloom Home
Frank Berglund House
In April of 1886, Frank Berglund, a guard at the Minnesota State Prison, purchased Lot 15, Block 5 of Sabin’s Addition. Because this lot bordered the ravine on the south, it was a larger than normal 43 x 215 foot lot. On the north 125 feet of this lot, facing West Laurel Street, Berglund had a neighboring carpenter John Carlson (who lived at 502 West Laurel Street) construct a house. According to the building permit application submitted in May, 1886, the house was to be one-and-a-half stories in height, 18 feet in width at the front, and 23 feet in width at the back. It was to be 30 feet deep. Underneath the house, there was to be a cellar, 10 feet by 12 feet, and 7 feet deep. Pine shingles were specified for the roof. The cost was estimated at $400.
Frank only lived there for a couple of years, while he had a second house built on the back of the lot. (See the entry for 515 North Everett Street.) In January of 1888, he sold the house at 423 West Laurel to a Swedish-born couple, Charles O. Anderson and his wife, Carrie, who moved into the house with their newborn daughter, Ethel. Charles worked as a Washington County deputy sheriff.
Several owners later, the house was in foreclosure when it was purchased in 1998 by Anna Franciskovich. Her daughter and son-in-law, Kim and John Brach began an intense restoration of the house. Because the structure was in imminent danger of sliding off its foundation, it was jacked up and a new block foundation placed under the house. John made new trim to duplicate missing pieces, and he refurbished the old original storm windows, which remain on the house.
Wood salvaged from a rotted front porch was reused in the enclosed back porch, and a new front porch constructed to match the old one. The floors were sanded and the old doors renovated. In all, it took the Brachs four months to make the house habitable, and another year to complete the project. While working on this house, the Brach’s eyed the house just to the south, at 515 North Everett Street, but that is another story.
Source(s): The original annual tax assessors’ rolls, 1884-1896 (on microfilm in the St. Croix Collection, Stillwater Public Library); Book 18 of Deeds, page 337; City of Stillwater application for building permit #48; Stillwater City Directories for 1887, 1894; US Census for 1900; Book 24 of Deeds, page 549; Sanborn Insurance map for 1924; conversation with Kim Brach, 1/13/2009.
Washington County Parcel Identification Number (PIN): 2803020240072
Common Property Name: Frank Berglund House
Neighborhood: Sabin's Addition
State Historic Preservation Office Inventory Number: WA-SWC-1724
Construction Date: 1886
Builder: Carlson, John
Architectural Style: Vernacular