Josiah & Lydia Staples House
This lot was purchased in October of 1857 by Josiah and Lydia Staples from John McKusick There is every indication that in 1858 or 1859 they built the relatively small house that remains on the lot today. The earliest tax assessors records extant indicate a value of $600 in 1861. _x000D_ _x000D_ Josiah Staples was born in Brunswick, Maine June 20, 1826. At the age of 22, in 1848, he left Maine with a small group of settlers headed for Stillwater. They journeyed from Eastport, Maine to Boston on a steamship; thence to New York on a railroad; from there they traveled on the Erie Canal for 10 days to Buffalo, New York. They came across the Great Lakes to Chicago at which point they hired teams of horses to take them to Galena, Illinois on the Mississippi River where they boarded the steamboat, "Lady Franklin" to reach Stillwater on the St. Croix River. That is the route followed by many of the early settlers from the east coast. Once in Stillwater, Josiah entered the lumber business. Josiah died in 1892, and Lydia in 1906._x000D_ _x000D_ In 1864, the Staples purchased the house at 402 North Fourth Street for $1,500 from Thomas Sinclair and his wife; in turn, the Sinclairs purchased the Staples house at 414 North Fourth for $1,000. The 1870 Census lists Thomas and Elmira Sinclair living (in this house?) with five children, one servant, and an apprentice stone mason. Although the records are sketchy, there is every indication that Thomas and Elmira Sinclair lived in this house at 414 North Fourth Street until the death of Thomas in 1874. _x000D_ _x000D_ The house was then sold to Isaac Staples who apparently used it for lumber company business until 1882, when it was sold to a logger by the name of William Hatch, a single man. The following year, Bernhardt (or Benjamen) Thelen purchased the house and lot, which he kept until his death around 1910. _x000D_ _x000D_ Although the form and footprint of this "broadside" Greek Revival house have remained largely unchanged, there was a large two-story building with a one-story addition on the back northwest corner of the lot. The 1888 map codes the building as a stable, but it also assigns a house number, 414, to the building. When that out building was constructed is uncertain, but it was demolished sometime between 1904 and 1910. _x000D_ _x000D_ Many of the details of this early house: the siding, the windows, have been altered, but the basic form of the house remains as a cottage of the Greek Revival style. The front original part of the house has a 10 foot ceiling, with what was probably a sleeping loft above. There is also one interior door of the very simple design used before the Civil War. The most prominent feature, which immediately identifies the style and the age, is the narrow front door sidelights and transom, which can also be found on the houses at 402 and 420 North Fourth Street. The current owners, Louie and Lee Vann, have made the house comfortable while retaining the historic characteristics that make it notable.
Josiah & Lydia Staples House
This lot was purchased in October of 1857 by Josiah and Lydia Staples from John McKusick There is every indication that in 1858 or 1859 they built the relatively small house that remains on the lot today. The earliest tax assessors records extant indicate a value of $600 in 1861. _x000D_ _x000D_ Josiah Staples was born in Brunswick, Maine June 20, 1826. At the age of 22, in 1848, he left Maine with a small group of settlers headed for Stillwater. They journeyed from Eastport, Maine to Boston on a steamship; thence to New York on a railroad; from there they traveled on the Erie Canal for 10 days to Buffalo, New York. They came across the Great Lakes to Chicago at which point they hired teams of horses to take them to Galena, Illinois on the Mississippi River where they boarded the steamboat, "Lady Franklin" to reach Stillwater on the St. Croix River. That is the route followed by many of the early settlers from the east coast. Once in Stillwater, Josiah entered the lumber business. Josiah died in 1892, and Lydia in 1906._x000D_ _x000D_ In 1864, the Staples purchased the house at 402 North Fourth Street for $1,500 from Thomas Sinclair and his wife; in turn, the Sinclairs purchased the Staples house at 414 North Fourth for $1,000. The 1870 Census lists Thomas and Elmira Sinclair living (in this house?) with five children, one servant, and an apprentice stone mason. Although the records are sketchy, there is every indication that Thomas and Elmira Sinclair lived in this house at 414 North Fourth Street until the death of Thomas in 1874. _x000D_ _x000D_ The house was then sold to Isaac Staples who apparently used it for lumber company business until 1882, when it was sold to a logger by the name of William Hatch, a single man. The following year, Bernhardt (or Benjamen) Thelen purchased the house and lot, which he kept until his death around 1910. _x000D_ _x000D_ Although the form and footprint of this "broadside" Greek Revival house have remained largely unchanged, there was a large two-story building with a one-story addition on the back northwest corner of the lot. The 1888 map codes the building as a stable, but it also assigns a house number, 414, to the building. When that out building was constructed is uncertain, but it was demolished sometime between 1904 and 1910. _x000D_ _x000D_ Many of the details of this early house: the siding, the windows, have been altered, but the basic form of the house remains as a cottage of the Greek Revival style. The front original part of the house has a 10 foot ceiling, with what was probably a sleeping loft above. There is also one interior door of the very simple design used before the Civil War. The most prominent feature, which immediately identifies the style and the age, is the narrow front door sidelights and transom, which can also be found on the houses at 402 and 420 North Fourth Street. The current owners, Louie and Lee Vann, have made the house comfortable while retaining the historic characteristics that make it notable.
Posted Date
Sep 27, 2021
Source Name
Heirloom Homes and Landmark
