924 6th Ave S
Stillwater, MN 55082, USA

Charles Krone House

This vernacular, two-story house was built in 1886 for Charles Krone. The ell-shaped frame residence has a poured concrete foundation, clapboard siding, a cross gable roof with a brick chimney, and a wraparound front porch. This house is a simplified example of a Queen Anne form, but lacks the rich adornment that was common to Queen Anne style. The Queen Anne style was popular in the United States in the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries. The defining features of this house include the original clapboard siding with corner boards, tall and narrow one-over-one double-hung windows, a steeply pitched cross-gable roof, and the decorative scrollwork in the pediment over the front entrance. Over time, the wraparound front porch has been enclosed with four-light hopper windows; a one-story, front-gabled addition with clapboard and masonite siding has been added to the rear elevation; and a modern two-car garage was built in the back yard. Charles Krone applied for a building permit in 1886 to have carpenter Frank Peterson build him a one-and-a-half-story $200 house on this lot. Krone was an agent for the Singer Sewing Machine Company. According to the 1894-1895 city directory, John F. ORourke, a guard at the Minnesota State Prison, was the primary resident of the house. According to historical maps, between 1898 and 1904, ORourke enlarged the house to a full two-stories and added the wraparound porch to the front elevation. He also constructed a one-story addition on the rear elevation. In 1910, ORourke built a one-story barn on the property for $400. In 1910, ORourke was employed in the fuel business located at 316 Commercial Avenue. According to historic maps, between 1910 and 1924, a large two-story hipped roof outbuilding was constructed behind the house near the one-story barn that was built in 1910. Neither of these historic outbuildings remains. John F. ORourke and his family resided in this house for over thirty years.