435 Broadway Street South
Stillwater, MN, USA

Mortimer Webster House

The Mortimer Webster House is a historic house in Stillwater, Minnesota, United States, constructed 1865–1866. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 for having local significance in the themes of architecture and commerce. It was nominated for being one of the best examples of Italianate architecture in Stillwater, and for its association with Mortimer Webster, one of the town's notable early entrepreneurs.

Description

The Mortimer Webster house is a two-story, wood-frame house originally built as a cube with a rooftop cupola. Initially there were porches extending across the front and rear façades. A one-story wing was added to the rear around 1900.


History

Mortimer Webster was born in Owego, New York, in 1836. He worked as a house painter in the region before heading west in his late teens. Following stops in Hudson and New Richmond, Wisconsin, he and his brother William arrived in Stillwater in the summer of 1856 and established a painting business. In 1860 Webster transferred his livelihood to livery services and real estate. By 1866 he was concentrating exclusively on real estate, and had prospered enough to commission this fine house on a bluff overlooking the town. By the end of the decade he had platted two additions to Stillwater and by 1881 had significant interests in lots in the area as well as in Fargo, Dakota Territory.

National Register of Historic Places - Mortimer Webster House

Statement of Significance:

The Mortimer Webster House, significant as one of the best expressions of Italianate architecture in Stillwater, was built in 1865-66 by a settler originally from Owego, New York. The Italianate style, popular into the 1880s, was in common use in New York when Webster left there in 1856. With his brother, Mortimer established a painting business that operated until 1860. Webster then entered the livery and real estate businesses. Just as he was building his house in 1866, he shifted his entire attention to real estate. In 1869 he laid out Webster's First Addition to the City of Stillwater, and the next year platted five acres as Webster's Second Addition. In 1881 Webster owned a half-interest in five hundred lots adjoining south Stillwater, as well as land and buildings in Fargo, Dakota Territory. His success in the shift from painting to real estate was reflected in his substantial dwelling.