202 North 3rd Street
St Peter, MN, USA

Emilie and Stephen Schumacher House

The Emilie and Stephen Schumacher House is a historic home located in St. Peter, Minnesota, United States. Designed in the Queen Anne style, it was built for a local merchant named Stephen Shumacher and completed in 1887. The home was designed by Henry Gerlach, a Mankato-based architect who designed many residential and commercial buildings in the surrounding area.

After being passed on to the Schumacher's descendants the home was sold in 1967 (though it remained a private home). During the 1998 Comfrey–St. Peter tornado outbreak the home was badly damaged including the complete loss of the home's turret, roof and porch. In a yearlong restoration project aided by the Minnesota Historical Society the home was meticulously restored.
The home was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000 as an excellent local example of a Queen Anne style home.

National Register of Historic Places - Emilie and Stephen Schumacher House

Statement of Significance:

The Emily and Stephen Schumacher House is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) under Criterion C: Architecture, as an excellent local example of Queen Anne style residential architecture. Stylistic features of the Schumacher House include varied wall materials, multiple roof lines, a turret with an onion dome capped tent roof, stained-glass windows, and an elaborate first-story wraparound porch with spindle work and tapered posts. The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) inventory identifies it as one of two remaining intact Queen Anne structures that maintain high decoration in St. Peter. The Schumacher House compares favorably to the other Queen Anne example, which uses a similar form and materials but has less ornate porch and tower details. The period of significance for the house is the 1888 date of construction. The house was designed by regional architect Henry C. Gerlach for Stephen Schumacher and his family, owner of a St. Peter dry goods store. 2 The property contributes to the local context of "Residential Development, 1854-1945," defined in St. Peter's Historic Contexts: Final Report of a Historic Preservation Planning Report.

Historic Context
Residential Development in St. Peter

St. Peter's residential areas were platted with wide streets and large parcels to make room for the potential growth as the state government center, though this vision was never realized. Residential lots were originally laid out on a skewed grid system oriented toward the Minnesota River, so lots in the earliest part of town have a northeast southwest orientation. As additions were acquired, the grid shifted away from the river to orient true north and south. By 1870, the city's residential area was found along Washington, Front, Locust, and Broadway Streets, but soon grew beyond these limits. 3 By the 1880s, the city had grown due to its status as a commercial center and seat of county government, boasting a population of about 4,000 in 1884.

Housing, such as the Schumacher property, that stood in the area around Minnesota Avenue - St. Peter's main commercial street - allowed ready access to goods and services. Late nineteenth and early twentieth century residential units were primarily detached, single-family dwellings with carriage houses or other outbuildings to the rear of the lot. Some lots included housing for livestock before St. Peter passed an ordinance prohibiting this. 5 The houses were generally constructed of wood frame or locally produced brick.6 St. Peter boasted a wide variety of residential architectural styles, including Italianate, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, and Queen Anne.

The Architect: Henry C. Gerlach
The original construction drawings and specifications found in the home during the aftermath of the 1998 tornado identify the designer as Henry C. Gerlach. Gerlach, the son of German immigrants who arrived in the United States in the 1840s, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1859.'° His architectural career began in 1879 in Milwaukee, where he apprenticed for 4 years before moving to Mankato. Gerlach married twice - after his first wife passed away in 1886, he married Minnie Irasek of Milwaukee in 1889. They had four children. After moving his family back to Milwaukee in the early 1900s, they returned to Mankato in 1908, where Gerlach continued to practice until his death in 1924.

Gerlach designed an array of commercial, public, and residential buildings in the Minnesota Valley region, including Mankato, New Ulm, St. Peter, Good Thunder, and Mapleton. His public buildings include the State Normal School in Mankato (nonextant), the Blue Earth County jail (nonextant), the Mankato High School (nonextant), the First Baptist Church in Mankato, and the Watonwan County Courthouse (listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987). 12 His residential structures include: the Schumacher House; his own Queen Anne home in Mankato (1892), which was immortalized in the "Betsy-Tacy" book series by Maud Hart Lovelace; and the William E. Stewart House in North Mankato (1910). 13 While Gerlach's residential structures tend to reflect the Queen Anne style, the level of decoration varies. For example, the Schumacher House exhibits elaborate decoration on each facade, but Gerlach's own house is more subtle, reflecting the national trend toward more subdued Queen Anne styling in the 1890s. Although his Mankato residence features a wraparound porch and multiple roof lines, it does not have towers or turrets. The Schumacher House is an excellent example of Gerlach's ornate early residential work.

Ownership History

The residence was constructed in 1887-88 for the family of Stephen Schumacher, owner of a local dry goods store. Stephen Schumacher operated his business in a two-story brick building at 217 West Park Row. The commercial building was constructed c. 1873 by F. Schumacher for use as a cabinet workroom with a residence above. The dry goods and grocery store business began operating in this building as early as 1885 and the business was continued by Stephen Schumacher's sons, Henry F. and Louis Schumacher, until 1909.

The house was owned by the Schumacher family until it was purchased from descendants (Laumann family) by Mark Ahlstrom in 1967. The Ahlstrom family completed the restoration after the 1998 tornado.

Conclusion

The Schumacher House is eligible for listing on the NRHP under Criterion C: Architecture, as a fine local example of the Queen Anne style. The house displays high-style architectural features, including varied, patterned roof lines, a turret capped with an onion dome, projecting bays, recurring sunburst patterns, and a wraparound porch with decorative frieze and railing. The Schumacher House retains excellent historic integrity. Repairs to the house after the 1998 tornado replicated the historic materials and details of the house.