Share what you know,
and discover more.
Share what you know,
and discover more.
Ray Anderson House
The far north end of Stillwater is known as Dutchtown. It was founded in 1853 when the lumbering firm of Schulenburg & Boeckeler, of St. Louis, Missouri, came to Stillwater and built a large sawmill on the St. Croix River, about one-half mile north of downtown Stillwater. The lumber company also purchased 173 acres south of Browns Creek and west of the river. On this acreage, a classic mill town emerged centered around the sawmill and the company store._x000D_ _x000D_ At first, this settlement was known as Charlottenburg for Charlotte Boeckeler who died tragically in 1855, a year after marrying Adolophus Boeckeler. But as time went on, the settlement of German workers came to be called Deutschtown, or its corruption, Dutchtown. Because this northern edge of Stillwater was, for most of its history, separated from the rest of the city, Dutchtown had its own identity and history._x000D_ _x000D_ The one and one-half story house at 1901 North Second Street is one of a few remaining examples of a typical workers cottage from the Nineteenth Century. Its broad side faces the street with a door in the middle and matching windows on each side of the door. On the rear is a kitchen addition. There is a minimum of decoration on the exterior of the home. _x000D_ _x000D_ We know little about the history of this particular home at 1901 North Second Street. It does not appear on a very detailed 1892 Map of Dutchtown drawn by Lewis Clarke, the Stillwater city engineer. Robert Anderson, who grew up in the house in the 1930s, is uncertain whether the house was built in the early 1900s, or whether it was moved onto the lot sometime after 1900. The simple symmetrsymmetry of the house, typical of other Dutchtown houses built in the 1870s or before, seems to belie a building date after 1900. The probability is that the house was moved onto the lot, not unusual for the times._x000D_ _x000D_ Across the street from the house is a park. However, for almost one hundred years that was the location of the Dutchtown School. One of the four wells in Dutchtown was on the edge of the park in a space now occupied by the Second Street right of way._x000D_ _x000D_ In 2006, the City of Stillwater established guidelines for the construction of new homes in its historic neighborhoods. One of the criteria was that the new house should visually fit into the surrounding older neighborhood, both in size and form. In fact, both houses to the north and south of 1901 North Second Street, were recently built under these guidelinesa fact which might puzzle the observer who would note that both new houses are completely out of scale and form with the house at 1901 North Second Street._x000D_ _x000D_ See also the history at 2011 Schulenburg Alley and 1924 North First Street.
Ray Anderson House
The far north end of Stillwater is known as Dutchtown. It was founded in 1853 when the lumbering firm of Schulenburg & Boeckeler, of St. Louis, Missouri, came to Stillwater and built a large sawmill on the St. Croix River, about one-half mile north of downtown Stillwater. The lumber company also purchased 173 acres south of Browns Creek and west of the river. On this acreage, a classic mill town emerged centered around the sawmill and the company store._x000D_ _x000D_ At first, this settlement was known as Charlottenburg for Charlotte Boeckeler who died tragically in 1855, a year after marrying Adolophus Boeckeler. But as time went on, the settlement of German workers came to be called Deutschtown, or its corruption, Dutchtown. Because this northern edge of Stillwater was, for most of its history, separated from the rest of the city, Dutchtown had its own identity and history._x000D_ _x000D_ The one and one-half story house at 1901 North Second Street is one of a few remaining examples of a typical workers cottage from the Nineteenth Century. Its broad side faces the street with a door in the middle and matching windows on each side of the door. On the rear is a kitchen addition. There is a minimum of decoration on the exterior of the home. _x000D_ _x000D_ We know little about the history of this particular home at 1901 North Second Street. It does not appear on a very detailed 1892 Map of Dutchtown drawn by Lewis Clarke, the Stillwater city engineer. Robert Anderson, who grew up in the house in the 1930s, is uncertain whether the house was built in the early 1900s, or whether it was moved onto the lot sometime after 1900. The simple symmetrsymmetry of the house, typical of other Dutchtown houses built in the 1870s or before, seems to belie a building date after 1900. The probability is that the house was moved onto the lot, not unusual for the times._x000D_ _x000D_ Across the street from the house is a park. However, for almost one hundred years that was the location of the Dutchtown School. One of the four wells in Dutchtown was on the edge of the park in a space now occupied by the Second Street right of way._x000D_ _x000D_ In 2006, the City of Stillwater established guidelines for the construction of new homes in its historic neighborhoods. One of the criteria was that the new house should visually fit into the surrounding older neighborhood, both in size and form. In fact, both houses to the north and south of 1901 North Second Street, were recently built under these guidelinesa fact which might puzzle the observer who would note that both new houses are completely out of scale and form with the house at 1901 North Second Street._x000D_ _x000D_ See also the history at 2011 Schulenburg Alley and 1924 North First Street.
Posted Date
Sep 27, 2021
Source Name
Heirloom Homes and Landmark
