324 Bushaway Rd
Wayzata, MN 55391, USA

1939: The Fields House – 324 Bushaway Road

Excerpt from the History of Bushway Road and Its Neighborhood (1858-2009) by Irene Stemmer, of the Wayzata Heritage Preservation Board (HPB) as a means of preserving the history of the Bushaway Road and its neighborhood.

1939: The Fields House – 324 Bushaway Road
The two-story Colonial Revival house we see today was built in 1937 as a summer home for Dolly Andrews Field, replacing the one that burned down. The wedding of Mary Louise Field and Gordon Fritch took place at Dolly Field’s Minnetonka home in 1939.

This house is one of three that have been built on the property. The first house was built by Thomas F. Andrews in 1869. It was a large two story house with a screened wrap around porch. A second larger house with an open front porch was built sometime later. This house had many windows on both first and second floors and a front porch with Greek columns (building date unknown). According to old pictures, this is the house that burned down.

In the early years, a barn was located on the east side of the house for the buggies, sleighs and horses. The barn was razed sometime in the 1930s. The trapper’s cabin to the south of the house appears on all of the early pictures of the houses but its history remains a mystery.

The Andrews and Fields families also had city homes in SE Minneapolis. These homes are still standing in what is now the “Marcy-Holmes Historic District,” the oldest neighborhood in Minneapolis.

Dolly Sarah Andrews married Edward Morse Field, Jr. September 13, 1904. Dolly was the daughter of Thomas F. and Mary Fisk Andrews and Edward Field was the grandson of Cyrus West Field, founder of the Atlantic Telegraph Company and was instrumental in laying the Atlantic Telegraph Cable. Edward and Dolly had four children, Dolly Stephanie, born 1905, John Andrews born 1909, Mary Louise, 1911, Inanda Maud (Nonnie) 1917.

Edward and Dolly were divorced in 1928. Edward later married Joy Woodbury. Dolly did not remarry. Both George Cutler Andres and his sister Dolly returned to their childhood home to live out their lives. George remodeled the house at 527 Fifth Street SE in Minneapolis into a duplex as it still is today. George died in 1927 and Dolly in 1961.

According to the abstract, this property at 324 Bushaway was first owned by Horace Norton in 1855, followed by Milo Goodwin, Andrew J. and Mary B. White and D. L. Atchinson. Atchinson died in 1867. In 1878, his heirs sold the land to Thomas F. Andrews, Jr. Andrews died in 1892 and the land was held in his estate and eventually divided up between his wife, Mary, and children George Cutler, Frank and Dolly. In 1896, the house was sold to a family friend Charles H. Babcock and he in turn sold the 30 acres to Joseph W. Love in 1911. In 1914, Edward Morse Field, Jr. had a Contract for Deed with J. W. Love to repurchase the house along with the property on either side of the railroad tracks, north of McGinty Road. He deeded the property to his wife, Dolly.

John Andrews Field

John was only son of Dolly and Edward Field. He graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1931 and married Helen Drought of Fergus Falls the same year. He and Helen made their home in Kenwood in Minneapolis prior to moving to Wayzata where they had a home for the next 56 years (1940 to 1996). They had two children, David and Warren. John worked as a comptroller for Sears Roebuck & Company throughout most of his working career. Like his Grandfather Andrews, he also built houses: 1450 LaSalle (John Field’s first home at the lake), 1430 LaSalle for sister Nonnie and Roger Stevens, his second home at 310 Bushaway, two houses on the site of the old Northland Inn north of LaSalle and two houses in Minnetonka Mills. After Bushaway Road and Holdridge became annexed to Wayzata, John became very interested in local politics and rarely missed a City Council or Planning Commission meeting. He never sought public office. He was named “Citizen of the Year” by the Wayzata City Council in 1980. Helen was very active in the Wayzata Community Church, a life time member of the Waytonka Club, a painter and archivist for the Minnetonka Art Center and an avid bridge player.

In 1945, John sub-divided the home property placing four-plus acres at 310 Bushaway Road, and built a new rambler-style home for his family. Helen died in 1994 and John in 1996. 30 In May 1946, John’s mother, Dolly Field, sold the house and property at 324 Bushaway Road to Paul S. and Elsbeth Nelson. After Mr. Nelson died in 1952, his widow sold the property to Charles A. and Virginia Huebsch. The present owner purchased the house and 6.23 acres in 1976.

324 Bushaway Road, Wayzata, MN, USA

Historical Findings:
Field estate; a third house built by Fields, in 1937;
Now Westlund residence at 324 Bushaway;
Half of front yard to be lost by possible roundabout