Landmark Site

Michael and Mary Hanley House

 

This small house at 706 West Anderson Street is one of only two limestone houses in Stillwater. (The other is the Warden’s House museum on North Main Street.) Not surprisingly, the man who built this small house on Anderson Street was a stone mason by the name of Michael Hanley.

Michael Hanley was born in Ireland about 1830; his wife, Mary, also born in Ireland, was eight years younger. Michael came to Stillwater in 1853. In the winter of 1862, the couple bought this lot from the developer, William Holcombe, for $100, and Hanley immediately began building their home. The couple had 14 children, of whom six lived to adulthood. The 1880 U.S. Census records seven children living in the house: Kate, Ellen, Anna, Daniel, Michael, Peter, and John.

In 1871, Hanley added a second lot to his estate, but in 1876, he foolishly took out a $350 mortgage from a man in Wyoming County, New York. On June 14, 1877, Mary Hanley died. Two years later, in 1879, Hanley’s unique home was repossessed.

The assessed value of the two lots and his house was set at $315 by the tax assessor in 1880. However, the newspaper, The Messenger, had the following ad in its August 5, 1882, edition: "For Sale: A stone house on Anderson and Harriet streets: Holcombe’s Addition. Two beautiful lots. Very desirable. $750.00"

On April 9, 1888, Michael Hanley died at age 58. He had become a well known stone mason in Stillwater who worked on the construction of St. Michael’s Church and the Stone Bridge among other notable projects.

His small one-story symmetrical house with its broad side to the street, is a very simple version of the Greek Revival style. Hanley built the house with rubble (odd sized, not cut) limestone, a cheaper construction than that of cut limestone blocks. Sometimes the stone that was used was quarried from the basement of the house. These limestone residences are rare today; perhaps fewer than one-hundred remain in Minnesota. This home is worthy of preservation.

Over the years alterations have been made to the original house. An addition has been added to the back of the house. The original windows would have been six-pane over six-pane windows; today the modern windows are one-pane over one-pane. The front peak on the roof is a much later addition and is not compatible with the style of the original house.

The Stillwater Public Library has a painting of this house by Jo Lutz Rollins on display in its permanent collection.

Source(s): Information complied by Donald Empson, Empson Archives on 3/24/2009. Book O of Deeds, Page 6 is the purchase deed. The 1870 and 1880 U.S. Census list the family. Building date and value is from the original annual tax assessors’ rolls, 1861-1870 (on microfilm in the St. Croix Collection, Stillwater Public Library). Michael Hanley’s obituary is in the Stillwater Daily Gazette, April 9, 1888.

Washington County Parcel Identification Number (PIN): 3303020210076

Common Property Name: Michael and Mary Hanley House

Neighborhood: Holcombes Addition

State Historic Preservation Office Inventory Number: WA-SWC-851

Construction Date: 1862

Builder:

Architect:

Architectural Style: Greek Revival