Above left: A NEW ULM HOME at the corner of Center and N. State as built by a man who later became the 14th governor of Minnesota. The House, in Queen Anne style, was designed by Frank Thayer of Mankato and erected for $5,000. The porch at right once served as the governor’s reviewing stand. Above center: TWIN CABINETS with glass doors can be used for glassware of books. Underneath the cabinets are storage benches. Both the backs and seats of the benches open as storage areas Window looks out on N. State. Above right: OLIVE GREEN ceramic title surrounds the original fireplace in the living room. A gas fireplace later was added and is used by the present tenants.

A New Ulm home built by a man who later became governor of Minnesota is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Register, maintained by the National Park Service, is a listing of the places and things of American deemed worthy of preservation.

The home, a Queen Anne style mansion at the corner of Center and N. State, looks basically the same as when it was built by John Lind in 1887.

LIND, then serving as second district congressman, became the 14th governor of Minnesota in 1898, the first to break the Republican hold on state offices.

A Swedish immigrant, he opened a law office in New Ulm after attending law school at the University of Minnesota. He also served as superintendent of schools in Brown County for a time and later on the Board of Regents of the University.

After his term as governor he was elected as a congressman once more, this time from the fifth district. Following his governorship he opened a law practice in the Twin Cities, selling his New Ulm mansion to Dr. George Reineke in 1901.

Shortly after Dr. Reineke’s purchase of the home, it was remodeled into an upper and lower apartment. The duplex still is owned by Dr. Reineke’s widow who lives next door to the historic home.

INTERIOR OF the home was designed to accommodate large gatherings, probably because of Lind’s active political life.

Originally, an impressive front hall was just inside the front door on Center St. To the left was the grand parlor and, in the tower to the right, a circular staircase extended to the second floor.

On the first floor in addition to the parlor were a library, a sitting room and kitchen. Three bedrooms, a sitting room and bath were on the second floor.

IN THE REMODELING a straight flight of stairs replaced the circular staircase, making room for two bedrooms, one on each floor.

“I’ve heard that the original stairway was the most beautiful one in New Ulm,”said Mrs. William H. Dempsey who once lived in the first floor apartment. The Dempsey family resided there from 1928 until moving into their Summit Ave. home in 1951.

Other former tenants of the home included the late Dr. and Mrs. Strickler, the Floyd Miniums, and the A. F. Anglemyers. Judge and Mrs, John Graff of St. Paul and the Jack Pinks, who later built on S. State, also lived in the historic house.

The home, erected at a cost of $5,000,was constructed primarily of local red brick on a base of rusticated stone. Characteristic features of the style are the wrap-around porch which extends around the lower story of the tower and the patterned shingle decorations in the gables.