311 8th Avenue South
Princeton, MN, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Ephraim C. Gile House

Statement of Significance:

The Ephriam C. Gile house in Princeton is a rare example of a Gothic Revival style in the part of Minnesota to the north of Minneapolis-St. Paul. Built circa. 1872, its date of construction and location define the late geographic and temporal boundary of the use of the style in Minnesota. Except for interior alterations, the exterior and all Gothic detailing is in excellent condition. The house is one of the few surviving structures which features brick from the Duncan Brickyard, established in 1866, the first of several ‘brickyards near Princeton that constituted an Important part of Princeton’s economy in the late 19th century.

The Gothic Revival was the first architectural style in America to be popularized through published plan books. Alexander Jackson Davis in 1837 published Rural Residences, which showed complete three-dimensional views complete with floor plans. His book was followed by the more popular Cottage Residences (1842) and The Architecture of the County House (1850) by Andrew Jackson Downing. These works had a broad influence — within a decade of their publication. Gothic Revival-styled houses and cottages Wiere being built in most of the then-settled parts of the country.

The Gothic Revival was the first architectural style in America to be popularized through published plan books. Alexander Jackson Davis in 1837 published Rural Residences, which showed complete three-dimensional views complete with floor plans. His book was followed by the more popular Cottage Residences (1842) and The Architecture of the County House (1850) by Andrew Jackson Downing. These works had a broad influence — within a decade of their publication. Gothic Revival-styled houses and cottages Wiere being built in most of the then-settled parts of the country.

Ephriam Gile was bom in 1836 and raised in Addison, New York. After receiving his training at the Bennet Medical College in Chicago, he began practicing medicine at Cambridge, Minnesota in 1871. Shortly after his arrival in Cambridge he ran for the state legislature but was unsuccessful in his bid for elected office. He also engaged in real estate speculation, purchasing two blocks within the city. Following his defeat, but for reasons most likely unassociated with it, in 1872 he moved to Princeton.

Lacking authoritative sources which would provide details of the activities of Dr. Gile upon his move to Princeton, it must be inferred that the house was constructed in 1872 following his arrival. The Gothic Revival detailing of the house probably reflect Gile's notions of appropriate house ornamentation based upon his experience growing up in central New York state, where the Gothic Revival style was common. Despite the stylistic trim, the house Itself is in shape and plan like the common vernacular El-shaped front-facing gable with side extension houses that were being constructed in the upper Midwest at the time.

The construction of the house uses the distinctive orange-red colored brick produced in the Princeton area. This brick was hand produced at the Duncan brickyard, the first brickyard in Princeton, established in 1866. The Gile house is one of the few surviving structures in the Princeton area in which this brick can be found.

Despite interior alterations, the Gile House retains all the exterior features which give it its unique form and character. The current owner of the house recognizes its significance and intends to maintain the house in accordance with generally accepted preservation principles.