104 1st Avenue Northwest
Faribault, MN, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Hudson Wilson House ( Hill Top Apartments )

Statement of Significance:

The Hudson Wilson House is significant both for its association with one of Faribault's first-generation leaders whose economic foresight and participation in local affairs contributed significantly to the town's early prosperity, and as an unusually distinctive example of the residences constructed by the area elite after they had achieved their success. Forty-three years a leader in Rice County's banking, thirty-three years an active member of the board of directors at the Faribault State School for the Feeble-Minded, and a lifetime participant in state, county, and municipal government, Hudson Wilson's role in early Faribault is striking. He came to Faribault in 1857 and opened a private bank with his brother, Hiram; fourteen years later it was Incorporated into the Citizens National Bank. Wilson's involvement in the early development of the region reached outside of the limits of Faribault; he was also a major stockholder and director of the First National Bank in nearby Northfield and a Rice County commissioner for nine years. His handsome 1876 residence, with its prominent scale and siting and locally distinctive design, reflects the success achievable by the first-generation leaders of the community.