William Henry Carmen Folsom, St. Croix River Valley lumberman and land speculator, chose this imposing site for his home in 1854. He, his wife Mary Jane, and their two small sons lived in an open barn on this property to prove up the claim while the five-bedroom home, reflecting both Federal and Greek Revival styles, was constructed. In 1855, after the family moved in, Mary Jane wrote to relatives in Maine, "We shall have plenty of room for as many as will come."
W.H.C. Folsom arrived in Taylors Falls in 1850 and actively involved himself in both the business and community development of his new home. Although he ran a store for 24 years, Folsom also helped operate a gristmill, a copper mining company, a bridge company, and a cemetery association. A member of the 1857 state constitutional convention. Folsom served five terms as state senator and one as representative. In his spare time, he wrote "Fifty Years in the Northwest," which is still a respected source of information on the early years of settlement in the area.
Once a wagon shed and stable, barn, icehouse, chicken coop, outhouse and wellhouse surrounded the main building. Of these, only the wellhouse remains, although the present garage was made with timbers from the barn.
[Seals of the Natural Resources Fund and The Minnesota Historical Society]
Erected by the Minnesota Historical Society
1970
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