On This Date in Minnesota History: December 17

December 17, 1974 – The “Warden's House Museum was built in 1853 as the residence of the Minnesota Territorial Prison warden. Over time there were thirteen wardens that lived in the house until 1914 when the prison moved to its present site in Bayport.

After 1914 a Deputy Warden or Superintendent of the prison used the old Warden's House. In 1941 the State of Minnesota sold the house to the Washington County Historical Society and it was opened as the second house museum in the state in June 1941.

The Warden's House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places [on this date].”

http://www.wchsmn.org/museums/wardens_house/

Warden's House Museum 

Photos taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain December 17, 2012, as long as acknowledgement included.  

Marker:
In 1849, the Governor of the new Territory of Minnesota, Alexander Ramsey, urged the Territorial Legislature to provide for a "proper and safe place of confinement" for prisoners of the territory. Because of Ramsey's request, the Legislature appropriated $20,000 for the erection of a penitentiary.

The site chosen for the penitentiary was in a ravine at the north end of Stillwater. This ravine is known as "Battle Hollow" because of the battle fought there in July of 1839 between the Dakota and the Ojibwe. It was a good location for a prison because natural cliffs bound the ravine on three sides.

In May 1851, the territory chose the firm of Jesse Taylor & Company to construct the prison building out of stone. By early 1853, the three-story prison building was completed. It contained six cells and two dungeons for solitary confinement, a workshop, and an office. The Warden's House, which sits just outside the ravine, was completed at this time also.

Francis R. Delano, the first warden, assumed office and moved into the house on April 4, 1853. A total of thirteen wardens administered over the prison until 1914, when the last of the prisoners were moved into new facilities.

In November 1876, three notorious convicts entered the Minnesota Prison. The Younger Brothers, Cole, Jim, and Bob were sentenced to life imprisonment for their roles in the famous Northfield, Minnesota bank robbery in which several people were killed and others wounded.

After the prison was moved south of Stillwater, the old warden's house housed deputy wardens. In 1941, Minnesota Governor Harold Stassen signed the house over to the Washington County Historical Society. Since that time the Society has operated the house as a museum.

In December 1974, the Warden's House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places and today stands as a testimony to the history of Washington County and the State of Minnesota.