Captain Austin Jenks House

The Captain Austin Jenks House is a historic house in Stillwater, Minnesota, United States, built in 1871. Austin Jenks (d. 1902) was a prominent businessman and river pilot involved in timber rafting on the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 for having local significance in the themes of architecture, industry, and transportation.[3] It was nominated for its association with Jenks and the importance of water transportation to the region's foundational lumber industry.[4]

Capt. Austin Jenks House
The Captain Austin Jenks House from the east
Location504 South 5th Street,
Stillwater, Minnesota
Coordinates45°3′5″N 92°48′36″W
AreaLess than one acre
Built1871
Architectural styleItalianate/Gothic Revival/Second Empire[1]
MPSWashington County MRA
NRHP reference No.82003085[2]
Designated NRHPApril 20, 1982

Description

The Jenks House is a one-and-a-half-story brick structure with a two-and-a-half-story tower.[4] Its distinctive appearance derives from a combination of three architectural styles. The bracketed square entry bay and cruciform roofline are elements of Italianate architecture while the platform porches, oval stained glass window, and mansard roof on the tower come from Second Empire architecture. The steep gables, finials, stone window sills and lintels, and detail on the eaves all signal Gothic Revival architecture.[1]

History

Austin Jenks was born in New York City and initially worked as a schoolteacher. He migrated west to Illinois and then came to Stillwater in 1855, where he found employment as a river pilot helping transport the bounty of lumber downstream.[1] In 1871 he became a ship owner, having commissioned and put into service the Brother Jonathan, only the second steamboat engaged in timber rafting on the Upper Mississippi River.[4] Three years later he joined the lumber firm of Durant, Wheeler, and Company.[5]

Jenks later became a financier, serving as the director of Stillwater's two leading banks, the Stillwater Dock Company, and the Stillwater Electric Light Company. He also served as president of the Stillwater Board of Education and on various other managing boards.[1][4] He married three times, his first two wives having died early. With Harriet Bennett, his third wife and reportedly the sister of his first, he had two daughters, Genora and Grace. Jenks died in March 1902 at the age of 68.[1]

The house remained in the family for another two decades, but Genora and her husband Robert Skeith emigrated to Canada in 1916 while Harriet and Grace relocated to Seattle in 1920. The house passed through a succession of owners, and from the 1950s to the 1970s was subdivided into separate apartments. A later owner has since restored it to a single-family home.[1]

See also

References
  1. Tschofen, Carmen (2011-05-06). "504 5th St S". Stillwater's Heirloom & Landmark Sites Program. City of Stillwater and City of Stillwater's Heritage Preservation Commission. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
  2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  3. "Jenks, Austin, House". Minnesota National Register Properties Database. Minnesota Historical Society. 2009. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
  4. Harvey, Tom (March 1981). "Minnesota Historic Properties Inventory Form: Jenks, Captain Austin, House". Minnesota Historical Society. Retrieved 2015-12-11. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. Roberts, Norene (August 1996). "Final Survey Report for the South Hill Stillwater Residential Area Stillwater, Washington County, Minnesota" (PDF). The City of Stillwater Heritage Preservation Commission. Retrieved 2015-12-11. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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