Landmark Site

Welshons House

 

Gordon Welshons' position as secretary and treasurer of the St. Croix Lumber Company afforded him both a prominent position in the community and the ability to build this architecturally elegant home at the corner of Burlington and 2nd Street. (The home is also recorded with an address of 1202 2nd Street in census records.) Cross gables merge nicely with a round tower and curving side bay, with scalloped shingles defining various horizontal sections.

While some sources reference St. Paul architect Louis Lockwood as a primary designer of the home, others suggest his influence is best seen in the 1902 remodeling that added the curved forms and distinctive porch columns to the 1887 home. Similar attention to detail was paid on the interior as well, undoubtedly supported by the millwork produced by the St. Croix Lumber Company.

In November of 1885, Gordon S. Welshons married Ida Kroon in the Stillwater Odd Fellows Hall with "The bride...dressed in a cream-colored cashmere with flowing veil and orange blossoms," and the 300 guests reflecting the couple's social status in Stillwater. (St. Paul Daily Globe, November 29, 1885.) They built their distinguished house shortly thereafter and raised five children: Irene, Glendon, Gordon C., Mervyn, and Dorothy.

In 1900, the household included Gordon's sister-in-law, Sarah Kroon and nephew Gordon Tolen, as well as domestic staff: in 1910, for example, Edna Mye and Louis Anderson. Daughter Dorothy was a member of the state championship basketball team from Stillwater High School in 1921.

Gordon served as president of the city council in the 1890s, was a founder of the Stillwater Commercial Club, and took a lead in organizing the Stillwater Street Fair for several years. Gordon died in 1920, and the children gradually left home. The 1930 census suggests Ida had moved in with son Gordon C. and his children on Martha Street and the home was rented to Ellsworth Mandt, a machinery sales manager, with his wife, Marian, and daughters Valerie and Patricia. By 1945, however, city directories place Ida and son Mervyn once again in the home. Following Ida's death in 1952, the house served as a rest home. The house also experienced a period of vacancy in the 1960s before later being restored as a single-family home.

Source(s): City Directory. Stillwater: R. L. Polk and, Various. Print. Larson, Paul Clifford. Stillwater's Lumber-Boom Architecture: An Annotated Photographic Essay. 1975. MS. St. Croix Collection, Stillwater Public Library. US Federal Census. Various years.

Washington County Parcel Identification Number (PIN): 3303020140042

Common Property Name: Welshons House

Neighborhood: South Hill

State Historic Preservation Office Inventory Number: WA-SWC-130

Construction Date: 1887

Builder:

Architect:

Architectural Style: Queen Anne