606 South Broad Street
Mankato, MN, USA

606 South Broad Street, Mankato, MN, USA

The historic house served as the Hubbard family home from 1871 to 1938 and the Blue Earth County Historical Society from then to the present (as of 2019). R.D. Hubbard founded Hubbard Milling Company and established a system of 42-grain elevators stretching across southern Minnesota and into South Dakota.

Forms part of Carol M. Highsmith's America Project in the Carol M. Highsmith Archive.

Hubbard House - National Register of Historic Places

Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance:
Rensselaer D. Hubbard bought property at 606 South Broad Street in Mankato early in 1871, and constructed his home, which was finished in the fall of 1871. A newspaper of the day called it the "handsomest" home in Mankato.

It was built of brick on a basement of cut stone in a variation of the French 2nd Empire style. The house is two stories high plus a mansard roof which forms another story. The roof is of polychrome slate. The front foyer contains outside and inside doors, the latter fitted with ground and figured plate glass.

The interior woodwork is of carved native cherry, walnut and oak. There are three marble fireplaces (in the parlor, the dining room and a bedroom - now the Museum Library -) which Mr. Hubbard bought at the Thieves Market in New Orleans after the Civil War forced plantation owners to sell appurtenances from their homes in order to support themselves. One fireplace is of white Brazilian onyx and Italian black marble; another is of Spanish marble; the third is of Georgian marble.

The dining room contains a signed Tiffany lamp shade; the parlor, dining room and a bedroom (library) have colored art glass windows.

In 1905 Bradstreet's of Minneapolis was employed to redecorate the downstairs. It is believed that at this time, the silk wallpaper in the two parlors and the wool tapestry on the wall of the dining room and the cherry paneling in the dining room were installed, and the Tiffany shade added. The work was rushed to completion so that Mr. Hubbard's funeral (he died in Chicago on August 29, 1905) could be held at his house.

Hot and cold running water was installed in the upstairs bathroom with an elaborate system of cisterns and pumps

The grounds were extensive; a Carriage House was built on the property in 1890. A street has been laid through the property separating the Hubbard House from its Carriage House, The City of Mankato plans to move the Carriage House to a location beside and to the rear of the Hubbard House, thus re-uniting the Hubbard House with its Carriage House, The City has purchased land for this purpose which will be appropriately landscaped as a City park. The Carriage House will be completely restored to house the Museum's extensive collection of horse drawn vehicles.


The Hubbard House is currently in use as a museum, although plans call for exhibits and storage of artifacts to be moved from the house when a new museum building can be acquired. It will then be restored as a Victorian mansion.

Statement of Significance:
R.D. Hubbard was one of the leading businessmen in the development of Mankato. He and his partner, George Palmer, organized several businesses which, although presently under other ownership are still operation. The major business was the Hubbard Milling Company. Descendants of George Palmer still manage the company.

The house built by R.D. Hubbard is typical of that built by a wealthy industrialist and was designed to show a gracious style of living of that period. That such elaborate house could be constructed in 1871, just 19 years after the founding of the town of Mankato, demonstrates the enterprise and ambition of Mr. Hubbard as well as the rapid growth of the community. The use of locally made brick and locally quarried stone for the foundations and ornate frames of stone around the windows, further enhances the house. Lumber used in the house came from local mills.

The Hubbard House is one of the oldest remaining examples of the 19th century mansion in the area and evidence of its local architectural influence can be seen in details of many in the neighborhood.

Hubbard House, Mankato

Content: Approximately 1972

Frances (Frank) Griffith Hubbard

Frances (Frank) Griffith Hubbard was born in 1856 in New York. Her mother moved with her step-father to Mankato when she was 13 years old. Frank married R.D. on October 7, 1878, gaining a step-son. She had two daughters with R.D. - Katherine and Mary Esther. She continued living at the Hubbard House after R.D.'s death with Mary Esther eventually moving in with her. Frank died on December 13, 1934.

Jay Hubbard

Jay Hubbard was born on January 8, 1871, in Mankato, Minnesota. He is the only son of R.D. Hubbard and was six years old when his mother died. Sources say he was close to his step-mother as well.

Jay graduated from Mankato High School in 1890 and was married in 1898 to Mary Osborn who passed in 1900. He married Minnie Schoyen in 1902 who he had two sons with; only one surviving to adulthood.

The couple was divorced by 1910. Jay married once again in 1912 to Edith Mcleod. She passed in childbirth in 1913. Jay eventually moved to Texas where he met Mary Caruthers who he married in 1919. The couple had two children together, a son and a daughter, and Jay remained in Texas until his death in 1945.

Mary Esther Cook

Mary Esther Cook was born in 1839 in New York. She married R.D. Hubbard in 1863 before moving to California with him, They settled in Mankato in 1870 and her only child, Jay, was born in 1871. Mary Esther died in 1877 of cancer of the lungs.

Rensselaer Dean Hubbard

Rensselaer Dean Hubbard was born on December 14, 1837, in New York. He married Mary Esther Cook in 1863, had three children - Jay (1871), Katherine (1885), and Mary Esther(1887). After being widowed in 1877, he married Frances Griffith in 1878. R.D. Hubbard died on August 29, 1905, in Chicago, where he was on business.

Katherine Dean Hubbard

Katherine Dean Hubbard was born on August 16, 1885. Dean was a family name that had been passed down through the generations of the Hubbard family. Kate attended Mankato High School before attending finishing courses at Burnham Hall in North Hampton, Massachusetts.

Kate later attended the University of Minnesota to obtain her degree. It was here that she met her future husband Harry Clay Ervin Jr. They were married at St. John's Episcopal Church across the street from the Hubbard House on September 21, 1910. Kate moved with her new husband to St. Cloud, Minnesota.

In July 1911, Kate gave birth to her daughter, Elizabeth who lived until February 1912. In February 1913, Kate gave birth to her daughter, Jean. Katherine passed away on December 30, 1918 from Spanish Influenza.

Photo: Katherine Dean with her daughter Jean

Mary Esther Hubbard

Mary Esther Hubbard was born on September 26, 1887, named after the first Mrs. Hubbard. Mary Esther attended boarding school at St. Mary's in Faribault before transferring to Stanley Hall in Minneapolis. It is here she met Edward "Ted" Richter whom she eloped in Owatonna on January 17, 1907. The couple moved back to Mankato before starting a family.

Their first child was born in September of 1907 followed by another in August 1909. The family moved to Minneapolis for Ted's job before Mary Esther filed for divorce in 1911 and moved back to Mankato. The divorce was never finalized and in 1915, Mary Esther moved back to Minneapolis and the couple had another child in 1915 and their last one in 1916.

The family stayed in Minneapolis until Ted died of pneumonia in 1926. Upon the death of her mother, Mary Esther inherited the Hubbard House in 1934. Mary Esther eloped once again on November 14, 1935. This was a very short-lived marriage as James Ireland was found dead November 17, 1935, in what was ruled a suicide. Mary Esther sold the Hubbard House to the Blue Earth County Historical Society in 1938 just before moving to Califonia to be closer to her children. Mary Esther died on September 29, 1967, at the age of 80.

Hubbard House from Broad Street with four women, Mankato, Minnesota

Hubbard House from Broad St. and four women; marks:""Left to right Katherine Hubbard, Cara Hubbard Jenkins (niece of R. D. Hubbard), Mrs. R. D. Hubbard, Esther Hubbard, about 1900, donated by Rosemary Heckel, granddaughter of R. D. Hubbard""