The Hubbell House of Mantorville, Minnesota, began as a two-room 16 X 24 foot log cabin built to provide a rest stop for mail carriers and stage coaches on their journey west. Mainly a saloon, two guest rooms were available in the loft above.
A few years later, in 1856, the flow of travellers into the Western Frontier grew and a new inn was constructed of native limestone, three stories tall. Gas lamps and candles lit the inn and a barn was available behind for the equine guests.
As road-weary guests quenched their thirst in the saloon, stagecoach passengers, drivers, and mail carriers exchanged bloodcurdling tales of their adventures with Indians, wild animals, and weather on the Wild Frontier.
The first floor of Hubbell House, one of the oldest structures still in use in Minnesota, has been in continuous use for nearly 160 years.
Hubbell House has hosted famous visitors including two US Presidents (Ulysses S. Grant in 1876 and Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952), First Lady Lady Bird Johnson, and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani in 2007. Kind of surprising since it is located in Mantorville, a town of 1200. The day I was there, this car was displayed outside the inn, making me wonder if perhaps there were a few 1920s gangsters who signed the book as well!
In case you are wondering how the food is, I didn't eat there. I was dressed in bicycling clothes, and the maître d' was anything but welcoming when I even tried to look at the old photos in the lobby. When I got home I read some reviews to see what I had missed. Not much apparently! Lots of disappointed diners. Oh, well -- I suppose stage coach travellers weren't as picky as today's travellers.
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Such a long history of usage. That car looks as though it is straight from the Bonnie and Clyde film!
ReplyDeleteIt is very interesting story. Your country is completely different from mine bur its history is amazing. I love reading about US. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteNow that is interesting! I like the way that old building looks.
ReplyDeleteHow fun to have pictures from the old and the new. Love that old car!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting building and it must have been constructed very well to last that long. The car is great!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fascinating post for OWT and such history! Love the photos especially the gorgeous vintage car!
ReplyDeleteartmusedog and carol (A Creative Harbor)
A real nice history lesson Cynthia. i'd like one of those cars to sit on my drive. It would sure impress my neighbours.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, too bad about the food, great shots!
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ReplyDeleteMy fault, Colin. Feel free to repost your comment.
DeleteCynthia
I like the old photos and the new ones with the old car out front. Too bad the maitred' is such a snob.
ReplyDeleteWow, it IS interesting to read about frontier days of your country and take a look at the old and new. The Hubbell House must have been the wonderful rest stop for the mail carriers or stagecoach travelers♫♫♫ So sorry that you missed the chance to eat food :-) Loved to have a gimp of your history and lovely old car.
ReplyDeleteSending Lots of Love and Hugs from Japan, xoxo Miyako*
some people collect old cars and have car clubs.
ReplyDeleteHi Cynthia
ReplyDeleteWell these things happen. Never a dull moment with this technology?
Anyhow - the Hubbell House.
I have been there - soon as I saw the blog - the lights lit up.
Can't recall the food, but the decor etc was good. I guess as my sister and her
husband were food connoisseurs, plus I am very much the same - especially way
back in travel days - it must have been good.
I think as John, Cheryl's husband, was an avid car enthusiast that may have been
the reason for the visit. I think ( memory being tested) that vintage cars were
displayed in the old stables in the Wild West Frontier days??
Ah - those days of visiting "the Pill Hill" of Rochester were great.
I will ask Cheryl when she returns from Europe, if she recalls the trip to Mantonville.
Warm here again and the azaleas and camillias are starting to blossom - EARLY!
Cheers
Colin
Lovely shot of the house!
ReplyDeleteI love the building and the car I really must pay more attention to buildings near me x
ReplyDeleteWhat a delightful building with some charming history and a great car, I wouldn't mind a ride in that...
ReplyDeleteGreat car there.
ReplyDeleteA very nice building and those "maitres" must not feel so exalted to other people. They are there to invite the people I suppose.
ReplyDeleteThats a superb looking car you showed at the end
ReplyDeleteOh wow - love the car!
ReplyDeletePlease link up with us at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2014/09/shell-game-linky.html
Sure is a historic building and good to see that it is still in use. Glad you didn't miss much. You sound very fit to be cycling to these places.
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