The Tobias G. Mealey House is a historic house in

Monticello, Minnesota Monticello ( ) is a city next to the Mississippi River in Wright County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,455 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. ...

, United States. Its original section was built in 1855 by

Tobias Mealey Tobias Gilmore "T.G." Mealey (August 5, 1823 – April 27, 1904) was a Canadian-born American entrepreneur, politician, and early settler of Minnesota. He grew up in New Brunswick, made his fortune in the California Gold Rush, and became an influ ...

(1823–1904). The Mealey family made numerous additions to the house throughout the latter 19th century, and later owners added a large wing to the east. The house was 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 ...

in 1976 for having local significance in the themes of commerce, exploration/settlement, and politics/government. It was nominated for its association with Mealey, an influential local settler, entrepreneur, and politician. It was delisted in 2020.

Description

The Tobias G. Mealey House stands in seclusion on a thickly vegetated hill on the outskirts of Monticello's historic core. The original section is a simple two-story

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 ...

building with

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

s adorned with open

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

s. The main entrance was on the west façade, which was spanned at one time by a

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...

d porch. The house gradually developed a rambling, complex structure with the addition of porches,

s, chimneys, and rooms, including a kitchen and summer kitchen extending to the east, and the main entrance shifted to the southeast corner. However a consistent exterior treatment of narrow-lap

clapboard Clapboard (), also called bevel siding, lap siding, and weatherboard, with regional variation in the definition of those terms, is wooden siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping. ''Clapboard'', in modern Am ...

maintained uniformity. Later owners added a full

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

to the east, which contained a garage and antique shop at the time of the house's National Register nomination in 1976.

History

Tobias Mealey grew up in

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, Canada, but went west in his late 20s to participate in the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

. Returning to New Brunswick in 1852 he passed through Minnesota and liked what he saw there. In 1855 he married Catherine Prescott and together they emigrated to Minnesota.

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

was too well established for him and

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 ...

had yet to come into prominence, so Mealey opted to settle in Monticello, then still called Moritzious. He sited their house on a hill away from the

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

riverfront to get away from the boatmen and lumberjacks he deemed unsavory. Mealey invested in several businesses, including a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

, two factories, and a

general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...

, helping to grow Monticello's economy. He also farmed the property around the house. Active in politics, he served in some local judicial positions before running for office in the

Minnesota Legislature The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decenn ...

as a Democrat, where he served several terms in the 1870s. He forged connections with other influential Minnesotans, selling land to

Thomas Lowry Thomas Lowry (February 27, 1843 – February 4, 1909) was an American lawyer, real-estate magnate, and businessman who oversaw much of the early growth of the streetcar lines in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Twin Cities area of Minneapolis, St. Pau ...

for a summer home and becoming close friends with railroad magnate

James J. Hill James Jerome Hill (September 16, 1838 – May 29, 1916) was a Canadian-American railway director. He was the chief executive officer of a family of lines headed by the Great Northern Railway, which served a substantial area of the Upper Midwest ...

. Tobias and Catherine Mealey had two sons and three daughters, and their growing family prompted successive additions to the house. In 1884 their daughter Susan married Rufus Rand, then vice-president of the Minneapolis Gas Light Company. As a wedding gift, the Mealeys gave the couple a large lot next to their own, upon which Susan designed the 30-room

Rand House The Rand House, nicknamed "Random", is a historic house in Monticello, Minnesota, United States, constructed in 1884 and operated as a bed and breakfast from the mid-1990s until 2020. The house is now a private residence. It was the centerpie ...

as a summer home. James J. Hill had a railroad spur constructed nearby for the convenience of his friend's wedding guests. Tobias Mealey died in 1904, whereupon Catherine moved in with one of their daughters. The Mealey family continued to use the house as a summer home until about 1940. It stood vacant until 1947, when it was purchased by Carl and Jeanette Sebey, who undertook a restoration. After the Sebeys moved out the house suffered another period of vacancy during which it was vandalized, inhabited by skunks, and encroached on by vegetation. Antique dealers Bob and Marion Jameson purchased the property in 1965 and began restorations again. As of the 2010s, though, the house appears to be vacant once more.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mealey, Tobias G., House 1855 establishments in Minnesota Territory Buildings and structures in Wright County, Minnesota Greek Revival houses in Minnesota Houses completed in 1855 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Wright County, Minnesota Former National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota

Description

History

See also

References