Comstock House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Solomon Gilman Comstock House
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The Comstock House viewed from the southwest
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 Location in Minnesota
Location in the United States
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| Location | 506 8th Street South, Moorhead, Minnesota |
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| Area | 0.5 acres (0.20 ha) |
| Built | 1882–3 |
| Architect | Kees & Fisk |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne/Eastlake |
| MPS | Clay County MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 74001011 |
| Designated | December 30, 1974 |
The Comstock House is a special old house in Moorhead, Minnesota. It's now a historic house museum, which means you can visit it to learn about the past. This beautiful house was built for Solomon Comstock and his family between 1882 and 1883. It shows off a mix of two popular styles from that time: Queen Anne and Eastlake.
Solomon Comstock (1842–1933) was a very important person in Moorhead. He was one of the first people to settle there. He helped the city grow a lot in business, government, and education. The Comstock House is looked after by the Minnesota Historical Society and the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. This means it's a very important building for history in Minnesota.
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Why was the Comstock House built?
Solomon Comstock arrived in Moorhead in 1871. He came with the Northern Pacific Railway. He had been a lawyer before this. In just ten years, he became the first lawyer for Clay County. He also became a senator for Minnesota. A senator is someone who helps make laws for the state. He also owned a big land company.
The Comstock family first lived near the Red River. But there were two big floods in 1880 and 1881. Solomon decided to move his family to a safer place. He wanted a big house away from the floodwaters. He also wanted to be far from the busy, noisy part of town. He found the perfect spot in an area called the Highlands.
Designing the Comstock family home
Comstock chose an architecture company from Minneapolis called Kees & Fisk. They designed the house using Queen Anne and Eastlake styles. The house had eleven rooms. It also had other buildings, like a place for carriages and an ice house. The ice house was taken down in the 1950s. Comstock wanted to support local businesses. So, he hired builders from the Fargo–Moorhead area.
Solomon Comstock was very involved in building his home. He even picked out the different types of wood. He wanted only the best materials. The building contract said that builders had to use "best available materials." If they didn't, they would have to replace them at their own cost.
Life in the Comstock House
The Comstocks were well-known in Moorhead. Their house was a busy place. Many people and groups met there. Sarah Comstock, Solomon's wife, was very active in the community. She was the first president of the Moorhead Public Library Board. Before the library building was finished in 1906, the board members met at the Comstock family's dining table. The Moorhead Women's Club also met at the Comstock House. Sarah was one of the people who started this club.
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The Comstock House in 1885, shortly after it was finished
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A reception room in the house around 1900
The Comstock House today
The Comstock House stayed in the family until 1965. Then, George Comstock and his wife Frances gave it to the Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS). In 1974, the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places. A group called the Comstock House Historical Society was formed. Their goal was to make the house look like it did in 1883. After six years of raising money, the house opened for public tours in 1980.
A big project to fix up the house started in 1988. Workers replaced wallpaper and put in new carpets. They also fixed up two chairs. They did a lot of research to make sure everything looked just like it did originally. For example, they found out what the chairs' original fabric looked like. Then, a company made an exact copy of the fabric.
From 2004 to 2015, the City of Moorhead helped manage the house. In 2015, the house closed for a year. This was to remove old lead paint safely. When it reopened in 2016, the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County took over managing the house. Today, it continues to be a place where people can learn about Moorhead's history.
See also
