The Burton-Rosenmeier House is a historic house in

Little Falls, Minnesota Little Falls is a city and the county seat of Morrison County, Minnesota, United States, near the geographic center of the state. The population was 9,140 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 8,343 in 2010 United States census ...

. Built in 1903 by businessman Barney Burton, the house was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on March 13, 1986, for both its architectural and historical significance. The house is currently part of Maple Island Park.https://www.littlefallsmn.com/listings/burton-rosenmeier-house/

Description

The house is located along Little Falls' First Street Southeast, south of the Little Falls Commercial Historic District and northeast of the Charles A. Weyerhaeuser and Musser Houses. The house faces east and features a

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. Ravines may also be called a cleuch, dell, ...

and an

oxbow lake An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or stream pool, pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is meander cutoff, cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. The word "oxbow" can also refer to a U-shaped bend in a river or stream, whether ...

in the back, as well as a

carriage house A ''carriage house'', also called a ''remise'' or ''coach house'', is a term used in North America to describe an outbuilding that was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and their related tack. Carriage houses were often two ...

. It is of the

Classical Revival Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassic ...

style and contains two stories, an

attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building. It is also known as a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because they fill the space between the ceiling of a building's t ...

, and a

basement A basement is any Storey, floor of a building that is not above the grade plane. Especially in residential buildings, it often is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the Furnace (house heating), furnace, water heating, ...

. The

frame A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...

of the house is constructed of

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

with foundation walls of stone. The exterior is covered with clapboard siding. The house's rectangular main body is covered with a

hipped roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downward to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope, with variants including tented roofs and others. Thus, a hipped roof has no gables or other vertical sides ...

, with sections of

gable roof A gable roof is a roof consisting of two sections whose upper horizontal edges meet to form its ridge. The most common roof shape in cold or temperate climates, it is constructed of rafters, roof trusses or purlins. The pitch of a gable roof c ...

over a

bay window A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room. A bow window is a form of bay with a curve rather than angular facets; an oriel window is a bay window that does not touch the g ...

at the front of the house and an extension in the back of the house. The windows' frames are

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

d. Most of the windows are double-hung

sash window A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double glazing) of glass. History ...

s, though an oval window is on the south facade, near the front

entryway A lobby is a room in a building used for entry from the outside. Sometimes referred to as a foyer, entryway, reception area or entrance hall, it is often a large room or complex of rooms (in a theatre, opera house, concert hall, showroom, cine ...

. The front facade of the house is where the most dominant visual feature is. The front

porch A porch (; , ) is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance to a building. A porch is placed in front of the façade of a building it commands, and forms a low front. Alternatively, it may be a vestibule (architecture), vestibule (a s ...

extends the whole length of the facade with circular

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings; * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

s at both ends.

Tuscan column The Tuscan order (Latin ''Ordo Tuscanicus'' or ''Ordo Tuscanus'', with the meaning of Etruscan order) is one of the two classical orders developed by the Romans, the other being the composite order. It is influenced by the Doric order, but wit ...

s on either way of the front

stairs Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical direction, vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps wh ...

support a flat

balcony A balcony (from , "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. They are commonly found on multi-level houses, apartme ...

protruding from the main body. The balcony has a

balustraded A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its c ...

rail and doubles as a roof, covering a

screened porch A screened porch, also known as a screen room, is a type of porch or similar structure on or near the exterior of a house that has been covered by window screens in order to hinder insects, debris, and other undesirable objects from entering the ...

on the second story of the house. Protruding from this porch are the roofs of the circular pavilion, which are connected by

Ionic column The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite o ...

s. Yet another porch can be found in the southwest corner of the house, by the kitchen. This porch is glass-enclosed.

History

Barney Burton was the son of Polish immigrants, originally settling in

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is a city in Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Illinois River, the city had a population of 113,150 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Ill ...

before moving up into

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. When he turned 18, he moved to

St. Cloud, Minnesota St. Cloud or Saint Cloud (; ) is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the largest population center in the state's central region. The population was 68,881 at the 2020 census, making it Minnesota's 12th-largest city. St. Cloud is the c ...

and started a clothing business with his brother, Jacob. Seeking a better location, they moved to Little Falls in 1886. Little Falls was flourishing as a community due to the so-called "timber boom" years. Just like the community, the Burton's clothing business prospered. Barney became the sole owner of the business after Jacob left to pursue other ventures independently. Barney's business expanded into Central and North Minnesota, selling wool clothing to

lumberjacks Lumberjack is a mostly North American term for workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees. The term usually refers to loggers in the era before 1945 in the United States, when trees were felled us ...

in the area. Burton married Sara Deutsch of

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

in 1894. Deutsch died the following year during childbirth. Burton married her sister, Josephine, in 1898; they had three children in their lifelong relationship. In 1903, the family built a home in Little Falls following a

pattern book A pattern book, or architectural pattern book, is a book of architectural designs, usually providing enough for non-architects to build structures that are copies or significant derivatives of major architect-designed works. A number of pattern bo ...

from George F. Barber, a prominent architect. Burton remained prominent in Little Falls business activities until his death in 1942. Josephine died in 1953 in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

. Christian Rosenmeier was a prominent figure in Morrison County following his graduation from

University of Minnesota Law School The University of Minnesota Law School is the law school of the University of Minnesota, a public university in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school confers four law degrees: a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Science in Pa ...

as president of his class in 1906. He originally established a law office in Royalton and married Linda Bakken. The couple had three children. Christian moved to Little Falls following his election as

county attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

, a post he resigned from in 1920 to focus on his role as vice-president of American National Bank of Little Falls as well as the American Savings and Trust Company. In 1921, he became president of both companies. The same year, the Rosenmeiers purchased the Burton house and established it as a law office. The following year, Christian was elected to the

Minnesota State Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are hel ...

for the area, a post he held until his death in 1932. Christian was instrumental in designating the Charles A. Lindbergh House as a state park and the creation of

Camp Ripley Camp Ripley is a military and civilian training facility operated by the Minnesota National Guard near the city of Little Falls, Minnesota, Little Falls in the central part of the state. The location of the camp was selected in 1929 by Ellard ...

. One of the three children, Gordon Rosenmeier, followed in his father's footsteps and graduated from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 1932 after being admitted to the

California State Bar The State Bar of California is an administrative division of the Supreme Court of California which licenses attorneys and regulates the practice of law in California. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law ...

. He returned to Minnesota and went into his father's law office, still in the former Burton house. Like his father, Gordon was elected to the state Senate in 1940. He joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

in 1942 and won his Senate seat

in absentia ''In Absentia'' is the seventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 24 September 2002. The album marked several changes for the band, with it being the first with new drummer Gavin Harrison and the f ...

in 1944. He continued to keep his seat until 1971. Gordon still resided in the house when it became a registered Historic Place in 1986, with him listed as the owner of the house on the nomination form.

References

External links

Little Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau official website
{{National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota 1903 establishments in Minnesota Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Buildings and structures in Morrison County, Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Morrison County, Minnesota