201 4th Avenue Southwest
Faribault, MN, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Vincent and Elizabeth Lieb House

Statement of Significance:

The Vincent and Elizabeth Lieb House is significant within the context of the period of early settlement (ca. 1855-1875) in Faribault. This period encompasses roughly the first twenty years of settlement and corresponds to the Minnesota State Historical Society’s Early Agriculture and River Settlement context. Within that broad context, the Lieb House is specifically significant as an example of the type of vernacular native stone housing built by Faribault’s working class during the early settlement days.

Faribault’s early settlement period was marked by the rapid influx of a variety of ethnic groups, both Yankee and European, and the establishment of the early local economy. That economy included a mix of local businesses including dry goods and hardware stores, clothing stores, meat and grocery markets, drug stores, boot and shoe shops, a wagon and sleigh building shop, furniture stores, restaurants and saloons, livery stables and blacksmith shops. This period also witnessed the development and the decline of the highly competitive milling (lumber, wool, and flour) industry along the Straight River Valley. Another of Faribault’s earliest industries was the quarrying of stone. The variety of limestone that was quarried m this locale was eventually shipped throughout the region and was used for homes, churches and public buildings. The stone also comprises the building material of some of Faribault’s earliest buildings. Faribault’s later role in the regional economy was nurtured with the arrival of the first railroad in 1865 and the beginning expansion of trade outside the immediate vicinity of Faribault.

The rapid immigration to and formation of an economy in Faribault was owed to a location that initially brought settlers into Rice County via steam travel up the river valleys As early as 1855, Faribault found itself at the intersection of an early network of roads including the Lake Pepin, Spirit Lake, Dodd (and St. Paul), and Hastings roads that brought immigrants from all directions. Faribault’s strategic location on the Straight River and at the intersection of new roads, combined itself with an environment of bountiful waterways, hardwood forests, and farmland, and drew settlers who saw the potential for entrepreneurship and a better life.

The arrival of many ethnic laborers in Faribault, among them Irish and German stonemasons, influenced the design and material of many of Faribault’s earliest buildings. Having come from areas in Europe with stone building traditions, these local builders continued to use their masonry skills and sense of design in many of Faribault’s most handsome and well-built buildings.

The simple plan, modest size and minimal decoration of the Lieb house is typical of the type of early settlement housing built by early masons with their vernacular sensibilities. There are eleven other extant stone vernacular houses in Faribault, all built by working class families after an initial period of establishment within the Faribault economy. All exhibit simple plans, minimal stylistic embellishment, and labor-intensive building techniques. They are distinctive for their flush stone lintels, protruding door and windowsills, interior beveled window openings and approximately twenty-inch deep walls.

The Lieb House was built five years after Lieb came to Faribault. He was 1» years old v/hen he immigrated to Wisconsin in 1852 from the Alsace in France. He farmed in the Beloit area for a year, then worked at the shoemaker trade until he made a claim near Forest Township in Rice County. In 1857 he moved to Faribault, again taking up the shoe trade He was joined by his brother Richard Lieb who established the business. During his later years he farmed in rural Faribault while retaining the house he built in 1862. While living in the house, the Liebs raised eight children. Vincent Lieb died in the house in 1897.