James and Minnie Hanson House
Seward P. and Elizabeth Richardson purchased this property in April of 1881; they immediately took out a $1,000 mortgage with the Stillwater Building Association. But the loan was not used to build a house on this property, but perhaps elsewhere. By 1889, the mortgage had been satisfied, although within a couple of years, it appears the Richardsons could have had financial troubles, for they sold these lots and their home at 712 S. Third St. to Robert McGarry, a bookkeeper for the Hersey, Bean & Brown Lumber Co. In June of 1895, McGarry sold the two-and-one-half lots to James and Minnie Hanson who built this elegant three-story Queen Anne style house which took the number 704 South First Street. A building permit application taken out in October of 1895 records the building of a barn and wagon shed, 20 feet by 30 feet, one-and-a-half stories high at a cost of $300. Madt Nelson from the North Hill was the builder._x000D_ _x000D_ Hanson, a native of Denmark, came to Stillwater in 1872 at the age of 19. He worked for Jotham Lowell in the grocery business for a number of years, eventually buying out his employer and continuing the business at 114 North Main Street. (See the Jotham Lowell house at 410 4th St. N.) Hanson was married in 1883, and fathered three daughters: Mamie (b. 1884), Gertrude (b.1886) and Millie (b.1888)._x000D_ _x000D_ Plagued by stomach problems as he was building his new home, Hanson sought treatment at the Oliver Wendell Holmes sanitarium in Hudson. After two months at the sanitarium, it became obvious James suffered from terminal stomach cancer, and on November 29, 1896--little more than a year after he completed his home--he died at the age of 43. Four years later, in 1900, the Stillwater census has no mention of his wife, Minnie, or their daughter, Millie. Instead the residents of 704 South First Street are John and Dora Peterson with their two daughters: Pearle and Ruby. The two Hanson daughters, Gertrude, age 14, and Mamie, 15, are listed as boarders at that address. _x000D_ _x000D_ After a series of owners, Nick and Susan Chaves purchased the house in the 1990s. During the process of converting the residence to a bed and breakfast, they meticulously restored it to its original splendor, complete with parquet wood floors, oak woodwork, large beveled and stained glass windows, pocket doors, and period light fixtures as well as Eastlake details. On the outside, the Queen Anne style is evidenced by the fish scale shingles, the curved window, open gingerbread porch, and the round Palladian window on the second floor._x000D_ _x000D_ Today the residence continues as the Lady Goodwood Bed and Breakfast under the direction of Ron Hannig who carries on the tradition of preservation. (The street on the north side of the house--now named Willard Street--was once named Goodwood Street.)
James and Minnie Hanson House
Seward P. and Elizabeth Richardson purchased this property in April of 1881; they immediately took out a $1,000 mortgage with the Stillwater Building Association. But the loan was not used to build a house on this property, but perhaps elsewhere. By 1889, the mortgage had been satisfied, although within a couple of years, it appears the Richardsons could have had financial troubles, for they sold these lots and their home at 712 S. Third St. to Robert McGarry, a bookkeeper for the Hersey, Bean & Brown Lumber Co. In June of 1895, McGarry sold the two-and-one-half lots to James and Minnie Hanson who built this elegant three-story Queen Anne style house which took the number 704 South First Street. A building permit application taken out in October of 1895 records the building of a barn and wagon shed, 20 feet by 30 feet, one-and-a-half stories high at a cost of $300. Madt Nelson from the North Hill was the builder._x000D_ _x000D_ Hanson, a native of Denmark, came to Stillwater in 1872 at the age of 19. He worked for Jotham Lowell in the grocery business for a number of years, eventually buying out his employer and continuing the business at 114 North Main Street. (See the Jotham Lowell house at 410 4th St. N.) Hanson was married in 1883, and fathered three daughters: Mamie (b. 1884), Gertrude (b.1886) and Millie (b.1888)._x000D_ _x000D_ Plagued by stomach problems as he was building his new home, Hanson sought treatment at the Oliver Wendell Holmes sanitarium in Hudson. After two months at the sanitarium, it became obvious James suffered from terminal stomach cancer, and on November 29, 1896--little more than a year after he completed his home--he died at the age of 43. Four years later, in 1900, the Stillwater census has no mention of his wife, Minnie, or their daughter, Millie. Instead the residents of 704 South First Street are John and Dora Peterson with their two daughters: Pearle and Ruby. The two Hanson daughters, Gertrude, age 14, and Mamie, 15, are listed as boarders at that address. _x000D_ _x000D_ After a series of owners, Nick and Susan Chaves purchased the house in the 1990s. During the process of converting the residence to a bed and breakfast, they meticulously restored it to its original splendor, complete with parquet wood floors, oak woodwork, large beveled and stained glass windows, pocket doors, and period light fixtures as well as Eastlake details. On the outside, the Queen Anne style is evidenced by the fish scale shingles, the curved window, open gingerbread porch, and the round Palladian window on the second floor._x000D_ _x000D_ Today the residence continues as the Lady Goodwood Bed and Breakfast under the direction of Ron Hannig who carries on the tradition of preservation. (The street on the north side of the house--now named Willard Street--was once named Goodwood Street.)
Posted Date
Sep 27, 2021
Source Name
Heirloom Homes and Landmark
