minnesota architecture - history inventory form ------ -...
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MINNESOTA ARCHITECTURE - HISTORY INVENTORY FORM
__________------___-_________Property Location_________--_____----________
Property Name: Lincoln Park County: Blue Earth
Address: 200 Lincoln Street City/Twp: Mankato
PIN: R01.09.18.160.001
Legal Description: To wit Fractional Block of 14 in Warrens Addition to the City of Mankato
__________------___-_________Property Information______--_____----________
Architect: Not known Style: Open Space
State Historic Context: Railroad and Agricultural Date Constructed: 1886
Development 1870-1940
Historic Use: Park Present Use: City Park
Property Type: Site Local Historic Context: Civic Services 1850s-1950s
NR Status: Listed as a contributing park Survey Name: Mankato Local Designation Survey
within the Lincoln Park Historic District
Prepared by: Courtney Kramlinger Survey Date: September 26, 2013
Description:
Lincoln Park is located in the central area of the City of Mankato and is bounded by South Broad Street, Grove Street and
Lincoln Street, forming a 0.5 acre triangular shaped park. Lincoln Park's location atop a hill provides excellent views of
the Minnesota River Valley looking out to the northwest and Central Mankato looking out to the northeast. Today
Lincoln Park holds passive green space and a walking trail intersecting the western side of the park.
History:
The small triangular public green space dates back to the Civil War and is named after President Abraham Lincoln and
serves as a memorial to those who fought in the Civil War. The desire to honor the memory of Mankato's Civil War
veterans prompted a citizen's committee headed by John H. Ray to purchase the triangular parcel of land in Warren's
Addition. On September 1, 1886, Trustees to Lincoln Park turned over the deed to the City of Mankato.
The Alexander Wilkin Post of the Grand Army of the Republic erected a bronze monument in Lincoln Park of a Civil War
soldier standing on guard at the center of a stone basin. Together, they formed a fountain. The soldier’s monument was
referred to as The Boy in Blue and was dedicated in 1893, a year after Mankato author, Maud Hart Lovelace, was born.
Thirty years had passed since the Civil War had torn the nation apart. Mankato’s efforts to memorialize its fallen heroes
was part of a national effort to build monuments and hold commemorative encampments on Civil War battlefields. A
3,000 pound mortar-gun completed the veteran’s memorial.
Lincoln Park has housed many distinctive features over the years. In May of 1900, a Howitzer cannon from the Spanish-
American War was dedicated as a memorial to its causalities. A notable incident occurred on July 4th, 1909, when seven
boys set off the old cannon as a prank. The recoil of the blast shattered windows throughout the neighborhood. No
injuries were reported, but the boys spent the summer working to repay the damages. Today, no traces of the soldiers'
memorial remain. A windstorm toppled the statue destroying it and the cannon was removed in 1943 to be melted
down for the war effort and a windstorm toppled the statue destroying it and the monument and basin were removed.
The park's most notable living memorial, the 300 year old elm tree affectionately known as Lincoln Elm, was designated
as Mankato's official symbol in 1976, the year of America's Bicentennial celebration. Despite efforts to prolong its life,
the stately tree succumbed to Dutch Elm Disease. When it fell in 1983, tree ring dating revealed it to be 315 years old
The Lincoln Park neighborhood has a quality blend of 19th-20th-century architecture and served as the center of living for
the top of Mankato's social ladder. They spared no expense when constructing their elaborate custom, hand-crafted
houses. They built a variety of styles, the most popular being Queen Anne, Colonial Revival and Craftsman. The Lincoln
Park neighborhood was built mainly between 1856 and 1930 and the neighborhood was placed on the National Register
of Historic Places in 1995. As it remains today, it is one of the most intact late 19th- and 20th-century well-maintained
residential neighborhoods in Minnesota.
Lincoln Park remains the focal point of the neighborhood, just as it did during local author Maud Hart Lovelace’s
childhood. Maud Hart Lovelace grew up in the Lincoln Park neighborhood residing on Center Street. In several of
Lovelace's Betsy-Tacy stories, Maud referred to Lincoln Park as “the end of the neighborhood.” To go beyond was a rite
of passage for her and her friends, Frances Kenney (Tacy) and Majorie Gerlach (Tib). In an article published in the
Mankato Free Press in 1952, Maud wrote, "As we grew older we made more trips downtown, pausing to play by the
fountain at Lincoln Park or rest under the big elm tree."
Evaluation:
The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing park within the Lincoln Park Historic
District.
Integrity:
Lincoln Park holds high integrity historically for its continued sense of pride within the neighborhood. Though the park
has lost notable features such as the cannons, original fountain, and the Lincoln Elm, local citizens have joined together
to raise funds to replace the Boy in Blue fountain and sculpture that once stood in Lincoln Park. Work on the fountain
began in May 2013 and is anticipated to be finished in 2015.
Significance:
Lincoln Park has significance locally because it has character, interest, and value as part of the development and heritage
of the City of Mankato. Lincoln Park is also significant for its physical characteristics which represent a familiar visual
feature of the Lincoln Park neighborhood and the City as a whole.
Condition:
Lincoln Park is in very good condition. The lawn is well groomed and maintained.
Sources:
Blue Earth County Historical Society. Vertical Files. Accessed September 2013.
Zahn & Associates LLC, Thomas R. (2010) City of Mankato Historic Context Study. Retrieved from http://www.mankato-mn.gov/upload/images/Mankato%20Context%20Study%20M-res.pdf.
http://nrhp.mnhs.org/nomination/95000671.pdf
Photographic Documentation:
Above: Photo of the former Lincoln Elm, cannon, and Boy in Blue
fountain, at Lincoln Park, all which have since been lost; date not known.
Above: Former Boy in
Blue fountain which
has since been lost;
date not known.
Above: Photo of Lincoln Park looking west. The base of the
Boy in Blue fountain which is being reconstructed along with
a memorial to civil war veterans are pictured.
Above: Photo of Lincoln Park looking east.
Sanborn Maps:
Above: Photo of Lincoln Park Heritage
Plaque installed for the 150 year
celebration of Mankato.
Left: Photo of
memorial to Civil
War veterans.
1889 Sanborn Map.
1900 Sanborn Map.