Alexander Ramsey was the first governor of the Territory of Minnesota, and the second governor of the State of Minnesota. In the 1850’s, Ramsey began building the mansion in what is now known as the Irvine Park area, where all the wealthy of St. Paul lived around the time of the Civil War. Irvine Park was just blocks from the central business district, and on the gentle slopes overlooking the Mississippi River. On his death, Ramsey, whose father cofounded the Minnesota Historical Society, gave his home to the MHS along with all its furnishings, so the mansion looks pretty much just like when Ramsey lived there.
After strolling through the home and filling up on the yummy appetizers, we were treated to a presentation by a young couple who 3 years ago purchased the Wright-Pendergast House. We learned that this home is the oldest remaining home in St. Paul that is still where it was built, and the second oldest home in the city. Apparently in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, homes were often relocated, even when they were huge. It’s hard to believe they had the technology to do that back then, but it was actually pretty common. The home, built by Isaac Wright, a St. Paul alderman, in 1851, is a massive Greek revival home with massive columns across its face.
After his death, the home was sold to James Joseph Pendergast, owner of a plumbing business, and whose father had laid the original foundation for Irvine Park. The home remained in the hands of descendants of the Pendergast-Daly family, ultimately Roger Daly, who in 2013 decided to sell it to Heath and Elyse Jensen, who now become only the 3rd family to have owned this 150 year old mansion.
We learned how the wealthy built homes surrounding Irvine Park until after the railroad industry peaked in the late 1800’s. When the lines were built to service St. Paul, they were built along the banks of the Mississippi River. The gently slopes from Irvine Park down to the River were excavated to provide flat terrain for the rails, which put all these wealthy folks’ homes right above the ever increasing noisy and smelly rail traffic. As the 1800’s came to an end, those wealthy enough to build large homes no longer wanted to be in Irvine Park, and began building their homes further up the bluffs along Summit Avenue, where they still had the panoramic views of the River and downtown St. Paul, but minus the noise and stench that the rails had brought with them.
In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the Irvine Park area fell into decay. Transients who rode the rails would occupy the park. Many owners frustrated with the decay of the neighborhood but with no effective way to sell their homes simply abandoned them, and then the transients would take up residency, accelerating the decay. By the mid-1900’s, many of the homes remained had been rooming houses. By 1970, 96% of the neighborhoods housing was considered substandard, and the City had begun plans to tear down the entire area and build high density public housing. In fact, the City had already begun building public housing in the vacant lots where thoroughly decayed old homes had been removed. To prevent its destruction, locals formed the Irvine Park Historic District, focused their efforts to preserve and restore the homes in the area, and in 1973, the neighborhood was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
We are having a gas moving around in our home on wheels and digging deeper into the history, and learning so much about the places we visit and stay a while. We find it particularly interesting all the new things we learn, even when we are visiting an area where we had previously lived for over 40 years!
Talk to you soon!
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