National Register of Historic Places listings in Houston County, Minnesota

Location of Houston County in Minnesota

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Houston County, Minnesota. It is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Houston County, Minnesota, United States. The locations of National Register properties and districts for which the latitude and longitude coordinates are included below, may be seen in an online map.

There are 16 properties and districts listed on the National Register in the county. A supplementary list includes two sites that were formerly listed on the National Register.

      This National Park Service list is complete through NPS recent listings posted August 18, 2023. ^[1]

Current listings

Map all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap

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[2]	Name on the Register	Image	Date listed [3]	Location	City or town	Description
1	Ballard Hotel	Ballard Hotel	November 27, 2017 (#100001841)	163 West Main Street 43°33′38″N91°38′18″W / 43.560653°N 91.638424°W / 43.560653; -91.638424 (Ballard Hotel)	Spring Grove	1893 commercial hotel, a once-common amenity catering to traveling salesmen and itinerant professionals. Now Giants of the Earth Heritage Center. [4]
2	Bridge No. 6679	Bridge No. 6679	July 20, 2011 (#11000468)	Minnesota State Highway 76 over the south fork of the Root River 43°44′19″N91°33′52″W / 43.73854°N 91.564327°W / 43.73854; -91.564327 (Bridge No. 6679)	Houston vicinity	1949 steel cantilever bridge—at 300 feet (91 m) the longest in Minnesota upon completion—exemplifying a major post-war advancement in bridge design. [5]
3	Bridge No. L4013	Bridge No. L4013	July 5, 1990 (#90000976)	Township Road 126 over Riceford Creek 43°37′21″N91°42′21″W / 43.622534°N 91.705822°W / 43.622534; -91.705822 (Bridge No. L4013)	Spring Grove vicinity	1915 stone arch bridge, the only documented surviving example of what appears to be a standard design introduced by the state highway commission in the early 20th century. [6]
4	Christian Bunge, Jr. Store	Christian Bunge, Jr. Store	April 6, 1982 (#82002964)	Iowa Avenue at Main Street 43°30′28″N91°27′50″W / 43.507737°N 91.463869°W / 43.507737; -91.463869 (Christian Bunge, Jr. Store)	Eitzen	Eitzen's most prominent commercial building—built in 1890 for the German immigrant merchant who named the town—and a symbol of the area's ethnic heritage. [7] Now a local history museum. [8]
5	Caledonia Commercial Historic District	Caledonia Commercial Historic District	August 5, 1994 (#94000830)	101-205 E. Main St. and 101-108 S. Kingston St. 43°38′05″N91°29′47″W / 43.634604°N 91.496431°W / 43.634604; -91.496431 (Caledonia Commercial Historic District)	Caledonia	Downtown strip with 10 contributing properties built 1872–1906, significant for its late-19th/early-20th-century commercial architecture and its key role in serving Houston County farmers. [9]
6	Daniel Cameron House	Daniel Cameron House More images	April 6, 1982 (#82002968)	429-435 South 7th Street 43°49′19″N91°18′28″W / 43.821934°N 91.307698°W / 43.821934; -91.307698 (Daniel Cameron House)	La Crescent	Prominent 1871 house noted for its Italianate architecture and associations with Daniel Cameron (a prosperous farmer and state senator) and his brother Peter (the first settler in the area). [10]
7	Church of the Holy Comforter-Episcopal	Church of the Holy Comforter-Episcopal More images	June 2, 1970 (#70000298)	Main Street 43°41′39″N91°16′37″W / 43.694216°N 91.277037°W / 43.694216; -91.277037 (Church of the Holy Comforter-Episcopal)	Brownsville	Brownsville's oldest public building, built in 1855 and used as a town hall, church, and school. [11]
8	Hokah Municipal Building	Hokah Municipal Building More images	October 20, 2014 (#14000868)	57 Main St. 43°45′34″N91°20′46″W / 43.759306°N 91.346028°W / 43.759306; -91.346028 (Hokah Municipal Building)	Hokah	1938 Art Deco hall with government and recreational facilities, a distinctive example of a small-town partnership with the Works Progress Administration for a multipurpose public building. [12]
9	Houston County Courthouse and Jail	Houston County Courthouse and Jail More images	March 18, 1983 (#83000905)	Courthouse Square 43°37′58″N91°29′45″W / 43.632775°N 91.495895°W / 43.632775; -91.495895 (Houston County Courthouse and Jail)	Caledonia	1875 sheriff's residence/jail and 1883 courthouse, noted for their association with Houston County's government and for being its leading examples of Italianate and Romanesque Revival architecture, respectively. [13]
10	Jefferson Grain Warehouse	Jefferson Grain Warehouse	November 25, 1994 (#94001386)	Off Minnesota Highway 26 43°31′00″N91°16′46″W / 43.516685°N 91.279462°W / 43.516685; -91.279462 (Jefferson Grain Warehouse)	Jefferson Township	Riverside grain warehouse built in 1868, a rare surviving reminder of a period when wheat was becoming the most important agricultural crop of the Upper Midwest and steamboats were still the leading form of transportation. [14]
11	Johnson Mill	Johnson Mill	April 6, 1982 (#82002966)	County Roads 5 and 23 43°32′19″N91°24′45″W / 43.538656°N 91.412521°W / 43.538656; -91.412521 (Johnson Mill)	Eitzen vicinity	One of Minnesota's few surviving water-powered gristmills, built in 1877 to serve the area's wheat farmers. [15]
12	Portland Prairie Methodist Episcopal Church	Portland Prairie Methodist Episcopal Church	April 6, 1982 (#82002967)	Off Minnesota Highway 76 43°31′33″N91°29′28″W / 43.525783°N 91.491099°W / 43.525783; -91.491099 (Portland Prairie Methodist Episcopal Church)	Eitzen vicinity	Rural church built in 1876, noted for its exemplary Eastlake movement architecture and association with the area's settlers from New England. [16]
13	Schech Mill	Schech Mill More images	January 31, 1978 (#78001548)	Off County Road 10 43°40′02″N91°34′50″W / 43.667299°N 91.580685°W / 43.667299; -91.580685 (Schech Mill)	Caledonia vicinity	Rare surviving watermill built 1875–76, and Minnesota's only gristmill to retain its original millstones and operable 1870s-style machinery. [17] Now a museum. [18]
14	David R. and Ellsworth A. Sprague Houses	David R. and Ellsworth A. Sprague Houses More images	April 6, 1982 (#82002962)	204 and 224 West Main Street 43°38′05″N91°29′55″W / 43.634856°N 91.498706°W / 43.634856; -91.498706 (David R. and Ellsworth A. Sprague Houses)	Caledonia	Two adjacent houses built between 1900 and 1905 for brothers David R. and Ellsworth A. Sprague, who carried on the commercial and financial work of their father, influential Houston County figure Ara D. Sprague (d. 1909). [19]
15	Spafford Williams Hotel	Spafford Williams Hotel	April 6, 1982 (#82002963)	137 East Main Street 43°38′05″N91°29′46″W / 43.634741°N 91.496129°W / 43.634741; -91.496129 (Spafford Williams Hotel)	Caledonia	Hotel established in the early 1870s before the railroad reached Caledonia, representing the city's early commercial activity and architecture. [20] Also a contributing property to the Caledonia Commercial Historic District. [9]
16	Yucatan Fort Site	Yucatan Fort Site	November 14, 1996 (#96001308)	Address restricted [21]	Yucatan Township	Blufftop earthworks, a largely intact site that helps illustrate the emergence of agriculture and densifying population along Upper Mississippi tributary valleys during the Oneota period. [22]

Former listings

[2]	Name on the Register	Image	Date listed	Date removed	Location	City or town	Description
1	Eitzen Stone Barn		April 6, 1982 (#82002965)	November 7, 2016	South of Eitzen	Eitzen vicinity	Barn built of fieldstone sometime in the 1870s or '80s, an unusual vernacular use of stonemasonry and a representative of the area's German immigrants and agricultural focus. [23] Also called the Schroeder Stone Barn. Razed in 2004.
2	Houston County Poor Farm		April 6, 1982 (#82002961)	May 7, 1990	Co. Hwy. 12	Caledonia vicinity	1893 poor farm. [24] Demolished in 1988. [25]

See also

• List of National Historic Landmarks in Minnesota
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Minnesota

References

1. National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior, "National Register of Historic Places: Weekly List Actions", retrieved August 18, 2023.
2. Numbers represent an alphabetical ordering by significant words. Various colorings, defined here, differentiate National Historic Landmarks and historic districts from other NRHP buildings, structures, sites or objects.
3. The eight-digit number below each date is the number assigned to each location in the National Register Information System database, which can be viewed by clicking the number.
4. Bisel, Jane; Steve Williams (2017-05-19). National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Ballard House. Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office.
5. Haun, Katherine; Robert Frame III (2010-03-10). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Bridge No. 6679" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
6. Hess, Jeffrey A. (August 1988). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Bridge No. L4013". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-09-18.
7. Frame III, Robert M. (1981-05-28). "Minnesota Historic Properties Inventory Form: Bunge, Christian Jr., Store". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-09-18.
8. "Eitzen, MN - Museum". City of Eitzen. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
9. Hess, Demian (1993-03-26). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Caledonia Commercial Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-09-18.
10. Frame III, Robert M. (1981-06-01). "Minnesota Historic Properties Inventory Form: Cameron, Daniel, House". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-09-11.
11. Grossman, John (1970-04-23). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form: Emanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-09-11.
12. Gaut, Greg (2014-06-05). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Hokah Municipal Building" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-05-25.
13. Frame III, Robert M. (1981-06-02). "Minnesota Historic Properties Inventory Form: Houston County Courthouse and Jail". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-09-11.
14. Anderson, David C. (1980-03-19). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Jefferson Grain Warehouse". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-05-22.
15. Frame III, Robert M. (1981-05-28). "Minnesota Historic Properties Inventory Form: Johnson, Charles, Flour Mill ("Upper Mill")". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-09-11.
16. Frame III, Robert M. (1981-05-29). "Minnesota Historic Properties Inventory Form: Portland Prairie Methodist Episcopal Church". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-09-11.
17. Frame III, Robert M. (1977-06-07). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory -- Nomination Form: Schech's Mill". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-09-11.
18. "Schech's Mill". Schech's Mill. 2009. Retrieved 2016-09-11.
19. Frame III, Robert M. (1981-06-01). "Minnesota Historic Properties Inventory Form: Sprague (Ellsworth Ara & Robert David) Houses". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-09-11.
20. Frame III, Robert M. (1981-06-02). "Minnesota Historic Properties Inventory Form: Williams, Spafford, Hotel (Barnes House)". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-09-11.
21. Federal and state laws and practices restrict general public access to information regarding the specific location of this resource. In some cases, this is to protect archeological sites from vandalism, while in other cases it is restricted at the request of the owner. See: Knoerl, John; Miller, Diane; Shrimpton, Rebecca H. (1990), Guidelines for Restricting Information about Historic and Prehistoric Resources, National Register Bulletin, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, OCLC   20706997 .
22. Dobbs, Clark A. (October 1994). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Yucatan Fort Site" (Document). National Park Service.
23. Frame III, Robert M. (1981-05-29). "Minnesota Historic Properties Inventory Form: Houston County Courthouse and Jail". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-09-11.
24. "Houston County Poor Farm (removed)". Minnesota National Register Properties Database. Minnesota Historical Society. 2009. Retrieved 2012-12-19.
25. Nord, Mary Ann (2003). The National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota . Minnesota Historical Society. ISBN   0-87351-448-3.

External links

• Minnesota National Register Properties Database—Minnesota Historical Society