Alexander Faribault House

Historic house in Minnesota, United States

United States historic place


Alexander Faribault House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places

The Alexander Faribault House from the east
44°17′27.7″N 93°16′1.5″W / 44.291028°N 93.267083°W / 44.291028; -93.267083
Built	1853
Architect	Alexander Faribault
Architectural style	Greek Revival
NRHP reference No.	70000309^[1]
Added to NRHP	September 22, 1970

The Alexander Faribault House is a historic house museum in Faribault, Minnesota, United States. Built in 1853, it was the first wood-frame house constructed in Rice County, Minnesota. It was built by fur trader Alexander Faribault in the Greek Revival style. Besides serving as a house, it also served as a civic center, polling place, and a church. The local address of the house is 12 First Avenue, Faribault, MN. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.^[2]

Alexander Faribault, son of Jean Baptiste Faribault, was a contemporary of Henry Hastings Sibley and served as his secretary for a time. In 1835, Alexander Faribault set up a trading venture at the confluence of the Straight River and the Cannon River. He had a relationship of mutual respect with the Dakota Indians with whom he traded, even to the degree of sheltering friendly Indians during the Dakota War of 1862. In 1853, he built a large frame house. His house reflected his prosperity, with nine bedrooms, a music room, a parlor, a sitting room, an office, a kitchen, a summer kitchen, and a sewing room. Part of his wealth came from "traders' claims" stemming from the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux, but he was also the proprietor of a sawmill and a flour mill. In turn, he was generous to the community, donating $3,000 to Bishop Henry Benjamin Whipple for the church and for Shattuck School. He also donated land for the Seabury Divinity School. He served as a delegate to the Minnesota Territorial Legislature and remained friends with Henry Mower Rice and Henry Hastings Sibley, even though Rice and Sibley were personal and political enemies.^[3]

References

^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
^ Nord, Mary Ann (2003). The National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota. Minnesota Historical Society. ISBN 0-87351-448-3.
^ Kennedy, Roger G. (2006). Historic Homes of Minnesota. Minnesota Historical Society. pp. 72–74. ISBN 0-87351-557-9.