506 8th St S
Moorhead, MN, USA

Comstock House

The 1882 family home of railroad & academic pioneers

A shining example of Victorian architecture
A true Moorhead landmark, Comstock House has stood as a symbol of prosperity since the city’s earliest days. The house was home to Solomon G. Comstock and his family, who helped nurture the tiny settlement of Moorhead into a thriving hub of commerce and education.

Managed by the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County.

Solomon Gilman Comstock House

The Comstock House is a historic house museum in Moorhead, Minnesota, United States. It was built for Solomon Comstock and his family from 1882 to 1883 in a mix of Queen Anne and Eastlake style. Comstock (1842–1933) was one of Moorhead's first settlers and an influential figure in business, politics, civics, and education in the growing city and state.

The Comstock House is run by a partnership between the Minnesota Historical Society and the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 as the Solomon Gilman Comstock House for its state-level significance in the themes of architecture, commerce, education, exploration/settlement, industry, politics/government, and transportation. It was nominated for its association with Solomon Comstock, who was instrumental in growing Moorhead from a pioneer village to a "booming railroad town", and for its exemplary late Victorian architecture.

Background and early history

Solomon Comstock came to Moorhead with the Northern Pacific Railway in 1871 as a track layer after his law career in Omaha, Nebraska, and Saint Paul, Minnesota, stalled. Within ten years of arriving he became the first Clay County Attorney, a Minnesota senator, owner of the Northwest Land Company, and a business associate of James J. Hill.

After two large floods in 1880 and 1881, Comstock decided to move out of the area by the Red River where the family first lived, the Points neighborhood. He planned to build a large house that would shelter his growing family at a safe distance from the flood waters as well as Moorhead's rough saloon district. A plot in the Highlands addition of Moorhead fit all of these criteria.

Comstock chose a Minneapolis architecture firm, Kees & Fisk, to design the home. They used a combination of Queen Anne and Eastlake styles in the eleven-room structure. The property's outbuildings included a carriage house and an ice house; the latter was demolished in the late 1950s. To support Fargo–Moorhead business, Comstock hired local contractors to complete the project.

Comstock was hands-on with the construction of the home, picking out the different types of wood that were used throughout the structure. He spared no expense. A clause in the contract with the builders required them to use the "best available materials" or risk replacement at the cost of the contractor.

The Comstocks were prominent Moorhead citizens, and their house hosted many people and community organizations from around Moorhead. Sarah Comstock, Solomon's wife, was the first president of the Moorhead Public Library Board. Before the completion of the library building in 1906, board members conducted meetings around the Comstock family's dining room table. The Moorhead Women's Club, of which Sarah was a founding member, also met at the Comstock House.


Later history

The Comstock House stayed in family hands until 1965, when George Comstock and his wife Frances Frazier Comstock donated it to the Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS). In 1974 the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The Comstock House Historical Society was formed to help restore the home to its 1883 appearance. After six years of fundraising, the house opened for public tours in 1980.

The largest renovation project at the Comstock House began in 1988, when MNHS employee Kendra Dillard created a furnishing plan. To carry it out, staff hired restorers to replace wallpaper, install new carpeting, and reupholster two chairs. Extensive research into the originals guided the effort; Dillard identified the chairs' original upholstery and worked with a company in Boston to create and emboss an exact duplicate of the fabric.

In 2004 the City of Moorhead signed a contract with the Minnesota Historical Society to manage the day-to-day operations of the Comstock House. It did so until 2015, when the house was closed to the public for a year during a lead paint remediation project. After the house reopened in 2016, the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County took over management.

National Register of Historic Places - Solomon Gilman Comstock House

Statement of Significance:

Solomon G. Comstock is noted as one of the first settlers of Moorhead in clay County, Minnesota. From the time he arrived in 1871 until his death he actively participated in the political, social and educational growth of the county and state.

Soon after he arrived in Moorhead, he took up^ the practice of law and was appointed county attorney in 1872, a position that he held until 1881. A staunch Republican, Comstock represented his constituents in the Minnesota “Legislature and the United States Congress. He was elected, as representative to the state legislature in 1875, a position he held until 1878. In 1883 he was elected to the state senate and served for four consecutive terms. He served as a representative in the 57th Congress of the United States from 1889-1891. While in the state legislature he served as chairman of the finance committee of the house, and of the judiciary and temperance committees of the senate.

The endeavors of Solomon Comstock often times took, the form of civic contributions to the community of Moorhead. His belief in the importance of higher education made Solomon Comstock an early advocate for the establishment of an educational system in Moorhead.

Solomon Comstock, along with two other Moorhead citizens, served as director of a corporation which established the Bishop Whipple School. The directors acquired six acres of land and erected the building on what is now the site of Concordia College. While Comstock was serving in the state Senate, he proposed the establishment of a state normal school at Moorhead. The legislature of 1885 voted to locate the fourth normal school at Moorhead on six acres which Comstock contributed for that purpose. He served as resident director of the school from 1894-1899. This school later became Moorhead State College. The present student union was endowed by Comstock and named for him.

In the field of business and industry Solomon Comstock was a forerunner in his community. He was one of a group of pioneer bankers who established the First National Bank of Moorhead in 1881. In 1883 he was one of the principal incorporators of the Moorhead Foundry, Car, and Agricultural works. This industry supplied the community with farm machinery, ditchers and heavy machinery of many varieties. Solomon Comstock 1 s close working relationship with railroad builder James J. Hill resulted in the development of an outstanding railroad system in the Red River Valley.

Solomon G. Comstock built this house in 1883 and soon thereafter it became the showplace of Moorhead. The house was designed by the Minneapolis architectural firm of Kees and Finch. Kees was a major figure in the developmental years of Minneapolis architecture between 1880 and 1910. He was a partner in the firms of Long and Kees, designers of the Richardsonian Romanesque Minneapolis City Hall/Hennepin County Courthouse, and Kees and Colburn, chief designers of many important. commercial and warehouse structures in Minneapolis. In 1965, Mr. and Mrs. George Comstock (son and daughter-in-law of Solomon G. Comstock) presented the house to the Minnesota Historical Society for preservation. In 1970, Mrs. George Comstock, now a widow, aided the Society in realizing the first phase of a plan to restore the house to its 1883 appearance. One room contains exhibits which tell the story of Solomon G. Comstock and his impact on Red River Valley history. The Clay County Historical Society assists in the operation of the house.

The significance of the Solomon G. Comstock House lies both in its architectural design and in its association with one of the founders and builders of Moorhead. Solomon G. Comstock was largely responsible for the overall growth of Moorhead from a pioneer village in the 1870s to a booming railroad town at the turn of the century.