403 Lake Avenue North
Battle Lake, MN, USA

Prospect House & Civil War Museum

Prospect House, also known as the Prospect Inn and the Prospect House & Civil War Museum, is a historic building located in Battle Lake, Minnesota, United States. James A. "Cap" Colehour bought this property in 1882 and had a house that was built according to the plans of his home in Chicago, Illinois built on it. Prospect House was built five years later as an addition. The 2½-story frame Georgian Revival structure was a 26-room summer resort that overlooked the lake. The Colehours operated the inn for 38 years. They sold it to their daughter and son-in-law who converted into their home in 1929. They moved the 1882 house across the street and rented it out until 1968. Cap Colehour had enlisted in the 92nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War. His incredible collection of war memorabilia is now on display in the house. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.

Architect : Einar Broaten Magnus Foss
Built by : John Lauritzen Co.

National Register of Historic Places - Prospect House & Civil War Museum

Statement of Significance:

The Prospect House, originally constructed as an inn in 1887 and remodeled as a Georgian Revival styled single-family house in 1929, is locally significant under Criterion C in the area of architecture within the statewide context of Tourism and Recreation in the Lake Regions (1870-1945). The property has been in the ownership of the same family since its construction and was owned by Ernest C. and Kathrina Wilkins at the time of its renovation. Foss and Braaten Architects of Fergus Falls, Minnesota completed the design. The house, along with the 1929 garage and circa 1929 child's playhouse, vividly display the revival of interest in authentically recreating early American architectural styles, in this case the Georgian Revival style, a sub-set of the Colonial Revival. This style was the dominant architectural idiom for residences during the first several decades of the twentieth century. During this time, it was also popular to "modernize" Victorian era houses to appear as traditional colonial homes, going great lengths to induce authenticity. In the case of Prospect House, the elaborate front entry surround design and much of the fat;ade faithfully replicate Mrs. Wilkins' 1772 ancestral home in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Prospect House remains one of the finest local examples of the style and uniquely illustrates the revival of interest in the authentic expression of early American architectural styles.

The first house built on this site was constructed by James Allison "Cap" Colehour (1842-1938) and his wife Catherine (Kate) Augusta Catlin Colehour (c. 1851-1940) in 1882. Colehour was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania to a family whose Quaker heritage date to the pre-revolutionary era. Cap Colehour fought in the Civil War with the 92nd Illinois mounted infantry, where he was twice injured, and joined Sherman's march to the sea. His experience in the war, and the many letters, artifacts and mementos of his experience in the conflict helped to define his persona and serve as the basis for a museum now located in the house. Kate's family heritage also reached well before the American revolution, and her great, great grandfather, Seth Catlin, was a loyal British major. The couple wed in Chicago in 1872 and lived in that city during the first 10 years of their marriage while Cap worked in the post office. Due to failing health, Cap Colehour was advised by his doctor to move west, which took the family to Minnesota, and Battle Lake.

The Colehours acquired land on a knoll above West Battle Lake and constructed a picturesque gabled house that replicated their Chicago home for a cost of about $800. Cap established a business partnership with E. A. Eve11s, an acquaintance from the war, and went into the lumber business. When their eldest son, Jamie, aged six years old, came upon a "traveling man" who couldn't find a room in town, he offered his own room at the house. Although Kate was not immediately enthralled with the idea of operating a hotel, Cap was intrigued by the opportunity. After several years of renting rooms to travelers, the Colehours constructed a side-gabled addition to the "Chicago house," and opened the Prospect House hotel in 1887.2 The new addition, although unpretentious, was large in comparison to the Chicago house, to which it was attached. The wood-framed building clad with clapboard had two-stories plus a finished attic with donners.

By that time, Battle Lake was becoming a destination for summer vacationers from southern states seeking a cooler climate and outdoor recreation. When Prospect House opened, the Lake View House was already operating, and adve11ised a livery stable, and that "no pains [ would] be spared by the proprietor to provide for the comfort of guests."3 George H. Willie, "the boatman," coordinated "pleasure parties, fishing parties, and hunting parties," and offered visitors boats, fishing tackle, and scenic picnic grounds.4 A review of the new Prospect House boasted that it was nearer to the lake than any of the other hotels and its landlord, James A. Colehour, was "that prince of good fellows, ardent sportsman, keen business man, and leading citizen."5 The Prospect House could accommodate up to 100 guests in 27 rooms at $2.00 per day. In a promotional brochure, probably from the 1880s, Colehour offered this promise to his guests:

To eat, drink, sleep and breathe pure air will be your great desire, but you can row, fish, drive, hunt, bowl, or lounge, as see meth best; and the best of these is sleep, for the tired body and weary mind will here recuperate beyond your greatest hopes.
In addition to serving on the school board, and as city clerk, alderman, justice of the peace, president of the light company, and four-term mayor, Cap, along with Kate, operated the hotel for 38 years. 7 In about 1902, the family constructed a small cottage on the adjacent lot, just south of the inn, where the Colehours raised their four children, and would live out their days. The cottage was called the "San Juan" house in commemoration of Theodore Roosevelt's battle in the Spanish-American War. Cap admired Roosevelt, and his son, James, is reported to be a hunting buddy of the President.

A House Revived
In 1925, at the respective ages of 90 and 80, Cap and Kate Colehour gave up the active management of the hotel, turning it over to their only daughter, Kathrina and her husband Ernest C. Wilkins. In 1929, the Wilkins acquired the inn and set about making it into a large single-family home through a major remodeling.

In 1925, at the respective ages of 90 and 80, Cap and Kate Colehour gave up the active management of the hotel, turning it over to their only daughter, Kathrina and her husband Ernest C. Wilkins. In 1929, the Wilkins acquired the inn and set about making it into a large single family home through a major remodeling.

The make-over of the house entailed the removal of the original "Chicago house," which was moved from the property and relocated a short distance across Lake Avenue. What had been a large hotel addition would become the Wilkins' new home. They hired the Fergus Falls architecture firm of Braaten and Foss to complete the exterior and interior changes in the Georgian Revival style. John Lauritzen Company, a prolific Fergus Falls firm, served as builder. On the interior, the inn's dining room became a large living room, while the office was converted to a family dining room, and the children's dining room became the kitchen. The lodging rooms on the second floor were entirely reconfigured into four bedrooms and two bathrooms, but the third story attic remained largely untouched. One-story wings on the north and south ends created a porte-cochere and sun parlor, respectively. Furnishings throughout the house were ordered from Dayton's Department Store in Minneapolis. Although the overall fun and massing of the exterior essentially remained the same, the material and details were drastically changed. The walls were clad with a new wood clapboard siding painted white, windows were reconfigured, and the gabled roof dormers were remodeled into rounded arches. Details such as fluted pilasters, Classical cornice, and elaborate center door surround clearly established the home as one of excelled taste in the Georgian Revival style. The doorway surround was even a precise replica of the Kathrina Wilkins' ancestral Colonialera home in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Several articles in the local newspapers described the property's illustrious history, and its remodeling "to a palatial three-story Colonial mansion," which would be "one of the most attractive and substantial residence properties in the county."12 The property became known as "Prospect House," after its predecessor hotel, which had been known both as the "Prospect House" and the "Prospect Inn" during its period of use.

Colonial Revival and Reviving as Colonial

When Ernest and Kathrina Wilkins remodeled the house in 1929, it was a thorough transformation to the Georgian Revival style, which was both a popular style at the time and a specific link to the family's colonial era heritage. Broadly speaking, the Colonial Revival style can take on many forms, depending on its region of inspiration. Spanish influences, for example, became the norm for revival buildings in Florida and the southwest, while adobe traditions were revived in New Mexico. The Georgian Revival style was particularly popular in the eastern states, where the historical precedents could readily be found. 13 With the growth in popularity, the easily replicated style spread in the twentieth century to locations, like Minnesota, where indigenous examples of colonial architecture never existed. The Georgian strain of the Colonial Revival style is characterized by a symmetrical facade, with a central front door, emphasized by a pediment, pilasters, sidelight or overhead fanlight. Windows are composed of multi-light double-hung sash, with a balanced arrangement, frequently in adjacent pairs. Cornices are often elaborated with decorative trim, and chimneys are used to emphasize symmetry. Roofs may be gabled, hipped or gambrel. After 1910, the two-story, side-gabled roof, rectangular block form became dominant.

Rather than simply borrowing architectural elements from historical periods applied in unusual and exaggerated fashion during the Victorian era, designers working with Colonial Revival styles were attentive to recreating a somewhat authentic representation of the historical precedent. The education of architects and their exposure to European travel gave inspiration for original plans that would appear as an authentic example of a period house. Rest assured, the designers and their clients were in a modern world, so authenticity had its limits. Interior an-arguments reflected modern living patterns, and accommodations were made for electricity, plumbing and automobile garages.

The Colonial Revival style has experienced a pai1icularly long period of popularity in the United States, from the 1880s into the 1950s, and beyond. Although hints of the revival of interest in the architecture and design of the colonial era can be traced as far back as 1828, when Philadelphia's Independence Hall tower was constructed in a manner believed to be fitting for its historic significance, the widespread popularity of the style is generally attributed to the work of the taste making architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White. Their 1877 trip along the New England coast in search of authentic colonial buildings informed and inspired their practice in the following decades. Their wood-framed, clapboard Taylor House (1885-1886) in Newport, Rhode Island was the progenitor of revival styled houses of the twentieth century. 16 Thanks to the work of McKim, Mead and White, the style was among the favored choices for their wealthy, east-coast clients in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The style came to be embraced by the broader public throughout the nation.

The Colonial Revival style dominated the architectural discussion in publications during the first decades of the twentieth century. Thousands of articles extolled the virtues of life in an "antique" home and featured richly illustrated scenes of costumed characters in front of an open hearth. Robert ai1d Elizabeth Shackleton wrote such bestselling books as The Quest for the Colonial (1907) and The Charm of the Antique (1914) in an attempt to seduce their readers into "the glamour and mystery of the past." As early as 1922, the classicism of the colonial era was described as a "permanent national style" in Fiske Kimball's Domestic Architecture of the American Colonies and Early Republic. The reconstruction of Colonial Williamsburg, begun in the late 1920s with funding from John D. Rockefeller, Jr., helped to fortify the message that the architecture of the early colonial Europeans was a fitting, if nostalgic, design idiom for modern America. Between 1910 and 1950, the colonial aesthetic could be seen in most America's houses at all income levels. 17 Detractors of the style remained at the most elite level. Frank Lloyd Wright called the "Colonial pretense" "foolish," and critic Lewis Mumford complained the antiquated style had "little to do with living architecture." 18 Still, nearly 50 percent of all houses shown in architectural magazines between 1922 and 1925 illustrated aspects of the Colonial Revival style.

The Wilkins' approach to the Prospect House was a major remodeling venture, transforming the Victorian-era structure into a home of proper style and sophistication reflecting the fashion of the day. Architectural historian Betsy Hunter Bradley documented the national phenomenon of "reviving as colonial," as well as reviving authentic colonial houses. Based on popular literature of the era, Bradley writes that remodeling outdated Victorians was considered an act of public service, and ironically, a statement of modernity. As with the Prospect House, these renovation projects were frequently major undertakings. A 1906 Country Life magazine article included among the changes to one house, removing an addition and all of the porches, rotating the house a quarter turn, and adding a two-story porch with classical columns.20 Robert and Elizabeth Shackleton also advocated for similar transformations in their 1910 book, Adventures in Homemaking in which they described their effort in remodeling their Victorian home. Their undertaking encompassed ridding the house of offending appendages and the "monstrously ugly bay window," and making "unsightly things ... sightly".21 Even Emily Post, the arbiter of etiquette, advocated for updating houses in the colonial mode. An ugly Victorian, or "wood-Lizzie" as she put it, could be transformed into a home a great beauty with the application of Colonial Revival principles.
Whether the Wilkins had read any of the advising literature on reviving their home as Colonial is not known, but they were clearly influenced by the growing tide of Colonial Revival tastemakers of the previous decades, as well as their interest with their own early American roots. The Wilkins didn't simply adopt a general Colonial motif, but made specific reference to Kathrina Wilkins' great-grandmother's home, the Joseph Stebbins House in Deerfield, Massachusetts.23 The local newspaper reported that the "extensive alterations" would result in "one of the most attractive and substantial residence properties in the county" and was a "reproduction" of Kathrina Colehour Wilkins' ancestor's 1772 home.24 While not a reproduction - the fact that the Wilkins were working with an existing structure prevented genuine authenticity - the fa9ade largely replicates the overall design of the historic structure: a two-story elevation with a central entry flanked by paired windows on the upper and lower stories. The door surround of the Stebbins house where the greatest elaboration of details is on display - was faithfully reproduced on the Battle Lake house. The Wilkins did not go so far as to replicate the gambrel roof, comer quoins, or chimney placement of the original. Other accommodations were made for the modem family, including a sun parlor, porte-cochere, and donners.

Broaten and Foss Architects, John Lauritzen Company
To remodel the house, the Wilkins selected the Fergus Falls-based architectural firm of Braaten and Foss. The commission for the "Residence of E. C. Wilkins" was assigned Job No. 6 on plans dated April 10, 1929. Based on selected invoices, Braaten appears to be the partner principally assigned to the Wilkins commission. Einar Broaten25 (c. 1885-1948) was born in Norway, where he studied architecture. He immigrated to Mason City, Iowa and around 1912 began work with the architectural firm of Jeffers & Co. with J. H. Jeffers. His early work shows strong influences of the Prairie style and can be seen in the Senior house (1912) and the Samuel Davis Drake house (1914), both of Mason City. Broaten briefly became a partner with Jeffers in 1915, but departed that collaboration two years later, and worked on his own and in partnership with local contractors for the next ten years. 26 In 1927, he moved to Fergus Falls, Minnesota where he formed his partnership with Magnus 0. Foss as Broaten and Foss Co. As a firm, they were responsible for designing several buildings in west central Minnesota in a variety of styles.
 
Their early Minnesota work as a firm included high school auditorium additions in Gary and Starbuck, a creame1y in Brandon, and Montgomery Ward buildings in Brainerd and Willmar. 27 During the Depression of the 1930s, many of their projects were funded by federal relief programs, such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Broaten is named as the architect for District School No. 182 (Barnhard School) (listed in the National Register) in nearby Sverdrup Township in Otter Tail County. This unique building, completed in 1940, employs the Moderne style, executed in distinctive local field stone. Other WP A-era buildings designed by the firm include a school auditorium and gym addition in Ulen, a school in Edgerton, the Clearwater County Courthouse, the Bemidji High School, a school building in Gary, a high school auditorium addition in Underwood, and the Milan Village Hall.28 Other examples of the firm's work include the Benson Block in Fergus Falls, and several Moderne houses in Fergus Falls and St. Cloud.2

Broaten's partnership with Foss probably ended sometime in the late 1930s or early 1940s. His life ended in 1948 at the age of 63 due to an apparent accident. After reported missing in February, his body was discovered nine weeks later in the Otter Tail River in Fergus Falls pinned against the Northern Pacific Railway bridge.

Magnus 0. Foss (c. 1897-1988) was the son of a Norwegian immigrant and Minnesota architect, Andrew H. Foss. The elder Foss was responsible for the design of numerous buildings, including churches, schools, houses, and commercial buildings in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. After studying at the Chicago Technical Institute, Magnus joined his father's firm as Foss and Foss in Elbow Lake, Minnesota in 1916. Following service in the army during World War I, he resumed his career in 1919. After his father died in 1921, he formed a partnership with Anton Jensen in Minneapolis. This union lasted until 1927, when he moved to Fergus Falls to join forces with Broaten. Foss would later form a Finn with his son, Magnus Jr., Foss-Engelstad-Foss, in Moorhead, Minnesota. As other sons joined the firm, it became Foss Associates Architecture Engineering and Interiors of Fargo-Moorhead. Magnus Foss Sr. died at age 91 in Arizona City, Arizona.

The architects worked with the John Lauritzen Co. as the contractor for the remodeling. John Lauritzen (1863-1929) was a Danish-born carpenter who settled in Fergus Falls in 1887. Among his first commissions was construction of the massive state hospital building in that city. The firm erected many of the houses and commercial buildings in Fergus Falls and Otter Tail County, and specialized in public buildings in Minnesota, Iowa, and the Dakotas.32 The Prospect House project was completed during the year of John Lauritzen's death at the age of 66; it is not known to what extent Lauritzen himself was involved with his company or the project.

A House Preserved
The timing of the Wilkins' inheritance and expenditure of funds for the house and other business ventures was unfortunate. The stock market crash in October 1929 and the ensuing economic depression resulted in the loss of their inherited fortune. The grandson of E. C. and Kathrina Wilkins, Jay Johnson, recalls his mother, Kathryn Wilkins Johnson saying, "we were rich for two years." Ernest Wilkins returned to his agricultural pursuits and became known for his gladiola and iris gardens on the west lots of the property. Ernest and Kathrina remained in the mansion, changing it very little, until their deaths in 1971 and 1965, respectively.

Their daughter Kathryn "Kay" Wilkins Johnson, who was raised in the house, returned to Prospect House in 1974 with her husband, Vernon Johnson. Kay was a talented ai1ist and interior designer.34 The couple made some minor changes to the house, including redecorating, updating the kitchen, and lowering kitchen windows and counters. Vernon reported he applied 57 coats of paint inside the house to cover the "streaks of old watercolors Cap applied."35 Upon Kay's death in 2008 (Vernon died in 2003), ownership of the property was turned over to her son, Jay Johnson, the fourth generation to own Prospect House. The house is now operated as a Civil War and house museum by the Friends of Prospect House, formed in 2010. Its mission is to tell the story of Cap Colehour through the family collection and house in order to achieve greater understanding and appreciation for an early and important time in the nation's history.