The Riley Lucas Bartholomew House is a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that is preserved as a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a variety of ...

Richfield, Minnesota Richfield is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota. An inner-ring suburb of Minneapolis, Richfield is bordered by Minneapolis to the north, Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport and Fort Snelling to the east, Bloomington to the south, ...

, United States, originally the home of prominent early Minnesotan

Riley Bartholomew Riley Lucas Bartholomew (May 30, 1807 – September 23, 1894) was a Minnesota pioneer and politician who served as state senator from 1859 to 1860. Riley Bartholomew married Fanny A. Watkins in 1829. He became a merchant in Geneva, Ohio, se ...

(1807–1894). The Richfield Historical Society operates the house as the Bartholomew House Museum adjacent to their Richfield History Center.

History

In 1852, when

Fort Snelling Fort Snelling is a former military fortification and National Historic Landmark in the U.S. state of Minnesota on the bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. The military site was initially named Fort Saint An ...

was greatly reduced in size, the area that would become the city of

Richfield Richfield may refer to: Places Canada *Richfield, Edmonton, Alberta, a neighbourhood * Richfield, Nova Scotia *Richfield, British Columbia, a ghost town from the Cariboo Gold Rush United States * Richfield, California *Richfield, Idaho * Richfiel ...

became available for settlement. Bartholomew came to the area and filed a claim on the shores of

Wood Lake Wood Lake may refer to: Places in the United States * Wood Lake, Louisiana * Wood Lake, Minnesota * Wood Lake, Nebraska Lakes Canada * Wood Lake (British Columbia) United States * Wood Lake (Lyon County, Minnesota) * Wood Lake, a lake in Watonwan ...

. He proceeded to build the two-story section of the home with local lumber, using white pine for the floors. His wife, Fanny, and two children joined him in the spring of 1853. Soon after the construction of the house, two additions were added by moving two single story dwellings from near

Minnehaha Falls Minnehaha Park is a city park in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, and home to Minnehaha Falls and the lower reaches of Minnehaha Creek. Officially named Minnehaha Regional Park, it is part of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board sy ...

and adding them on to the house. Bartholomew went on to become influential in local politics as a member of the Republican Constitutional Convention which framed the

Minnesota Constitution The Constitution of the State of Minnesota was initially approved by the residents of Minnesota Territory in a special election held on October 13, 1857, and was ratified by the United States Senate on May 11, 1858, marking the admittance of Min ...

in 1857. He also represented District Four in the

Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Minnesota Legislature, 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 State legislature (Unite ...

. Bartholomew, who earlier in life had risen to the rank of general in the Ohio militia, also joined a company of volunteers during the

Dakota War of 1862 The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several eastern bands of Dakota people, Da ...

. The house is listed on 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 ...

for local significance in military and politics/government for its association with Riley Bartholomew.

References

External links

Richfield Historical Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartholomew, Riley Lucas, House 1852 establishments in Minnesota Territory Federal architecture in Minnesota Historic house museums in Minnesota Houses completed in 1852 Houses in Hennepin County, Minnesota Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Museums in Hennepin County, Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Hennepin County, Minnesota Richfield, Minnesota

History

See also

References

External links