720 South Minnesota Avenue
St Peter, MN, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Frederick A. Donahower House

Statement of Significance:

The Frederick A. Donahower House is significant for its association with Frederick A. Donahower, organizer and president of the First National Bank, and as one of the most visually distinctive residences in St. Peter.

Donahower, born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, on 16 September 1830, completed a rudimentary education before becoming a store clerk at the age of 17 in Reading, Pennsylvania. In 1851, he moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, and two years later moved to St. Paul entering the employ of private banker C.H. Parker. During this period, Donahower, under Parker's direction, compiled the first set of abstracts for Ramsey County. In 1855, Donahower, left Parker to become a teller for Mackubin and Edgerton, a private banking firm in St. Paul.

In May of 1857, Donahower moved to St. Peter, a city founded three years earlier on the Minnesota River, and with E.S. Edgerton and Alva Smith founded a private bank. During this same time Donahower, initially with H.M. Ketcham and later with C. Amundson, operated a general merchandise store until 1887. In 1871, the private bank of Edgerton, Donahower and Smith organized into the First National Bank and Donahower was appointed cashier, a post he held until his selection as president in 1889.

At the time of his retirement in 1914, after serving as president and chief executive officer, Donahower was credited with the establishment and management of a bank which not only weathered the financial panics of 1857, 1873, 1893 and 1907, but increased capital holdings during the uncertain economic periods.

In addition to his banking interests, Donahower is one of the persons Influential in organizing the construction of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion and serving terms on the Nicollet County Board of Commissioners, City Council and School Board.

Donahower died in his home in February 1917, at the age of 86. His house, which is located on a prominent residential lot on St. Peter's main thoroughfare, is an excellent example of the Italianate style dwelling popular with businesspeople who constructed their homes to reflect their position in the community. Although, not generally flamboyant in appearance, the house is a significant and accurate reflection of Donahower's steady and substantial contributions to the financial wellbeing of St. Peter from its earliest settlement to after the turn of the century.

St. Peter was one of several river towns to be founded along the Minnesota River during the 1850s. The earlier building stock of these communities’ contrasts with that of the "railroad" communities of south-central Minnesota, many of which weren't founded until the later decades of the century. The Integrity and detailing of the Donahower House mark it as one of the most distinctive Italianate houses of the Minnesota River Valley and it significantly defines the position of St. Peter during its early development.