William G. LeDuc House
Encyclopedia
The William G. LeDuc House, located at 1629 Vermillion Street in Hastings
, Minnesota
is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. It was built in over several years, and completed in 1865, by William G. LeDuc who came to Minnesota in 1850 from Ohio
. He was an attorney who represented a party to a suit involving Vermillion Falls
, 1500 feet (457 m) southeast of the homesite. As payment for his services, Le Duc received the land where he built his house. Le Duc was a Civil War veteran and U.S. Commissioner of Agriculture under President Hayes
(1877-1881).
The estate is an unusually complete example of the Carpenter Gothic
style of Andrew Jackson Downing
, a pioneer in American landscape architecture. William and (his wife) Mary LeDuc used Downing’s book, Cottage Residences, as inspiration for their home (Downing himself had died in 1852). The home was the first property to be acquired by the Minnesota Historical Society
in the late 1950s but sat empty until 2005, when $1.2 million was raised to restore the home and grounds to their former glory.
Hastings, Minnesota
Hastings is a city in Dakota counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota, near the confluence of the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers. The population was 22,172 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Dakota County. The bulk of Hastings is in Dakota County; only a small part of the city extends...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. It was built in over several years, and completed in 1865, by William G. LeDuc who came to Minnesota in 1850 from Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. He was an attorney who represented a party to a suit involving Vermillion Falls
Vermillion River (Minnesota)
The Vermillion River meanders through Scott County and Dakota County in Minnesota, emptying into the Mississippi River just south of Hastings. 13.5 miles of it are designated as a trout stream, which is unusual for being so close to a metropolitan area....
, 1500 feet (457 m) southeast of the homesite. As payment for his services, Le Duc received the land where he built his house. Le Duc was a Civil War veteran and U.S. Commissioner of Agriculture under President Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
(1877-1881).
The estate is an unusually complete example of the Carpenter Gothic
Carpenter Gothic
Carpenter Gothic, also sometimes called Carpenter's Gothic, and Rural Gothic, is a North American architectural style-designation for an application of Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massing applied to wooden structures built by house-carpenters...
style of Andrew Jackson Downing
Andrew Jackson Downing
Andrew Jackson Downing was an American landscape designer, horticulturalist, and writer, a prominent advocate of the Gothic Revival style in the United States, and editor of The Horticulturist magazine...
, a pioneer in American landscape architecture. William and (his wife) Mary LeDuc used Downing’s book, Cottage Residences, as inspiration for their home (Downing himself had died in 1852). The home was the first property to be acquired by the Minnesota Historical Society
Minnesota Historical Society
The Minnesota Historical Society is a private, non-profit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the territorial legislature in 1849, almost a decade before statehood. The Society is named in the Minnesota...
in the late 1950s but sat empty until 2005, when $1.2 million was raised to restore the home and grounds to their former glory.
External links
- LeDuc Historic Estate, Dakota County Historical Society