Cordenio Severance House

The Cordenio Severance House is a mansion in Cottage Grove, Minnesota, United States, built for attorney Cordenio Severance (1862–1925). The mansion, also known as Cedarhurst, was first built as a simple country farm house shortly after the American Civil War. It was expanded in 1886 to serve as the summer residence of the Severance family. Between 1911 and 1917, additions designed by architect Cass Gilbert expanded the house into a mansion with 12,000 square feet (1,100 m2) and 26 rooms. The Cordenio Severance House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 for its local significance in the themes of architecture and law.[2] It was nominated for its association with Cordenio Severance, a leading attorney in Saint Paul, Minnesota, from 1887 to the 1920s, and for being an example of a grand country estate.[3] The mansion now serves as an event venue.[4]

Cordenio Severance House
The Cordenio Severance House from the east
Location6940 Keats Avenue South, Cottage Grove, Minnesota
Coordinates44°50′56.4″N 92°54′17″W
AreaLess than two acres
Builtc. 1880, remodeled 1911–1917
ArchitectCass Gilbert
Architectural styleItalianate/Neoclassical
NRHP reference No.76001077[1]
Added to NRHPJune 3, 1976

Description

The Cordenio Severance House has two Neoclassical columned porticos, a 100-foot (30 m) veranda, a formal ballroom with a pipe organ, three fireplaces, and an English rose garden.[5]

History

Cordenio Severance was well-connected politically. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and William Howard Taft all visited the mansion, and Central Intelligence Agency meetings were once held in the library. The mansion also hosted international policy meetings.[6]

The house is now owned by True Thao and his family. They have restored the mansion, which hosts weddings, receptions, and business meetings.[6]

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "Severance, Cordenio, House (Cedarhurst)". Minnesota National Register Properties Database. Minnesota Historical Society. 2009. Retrieved 2015-06-23.
  3. VanBrocklin, Lynne; Charles W. Nelson (1976-04-19). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory -- Nomination Form: Cedarhurst" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-08-26. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. "Cedarhurst Mansion". Cedarhurst, Inc. Retrieved 2015-08-26.
  5. "Historic Preservation Sites: Severance House (Cedarhurst)". City of Cottage Grove Community Development: Historic Preservation Sites. City of Cottage Grove. Archived from the original on January 6, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
  6. Trompeter, Jeanette (2007-04-23). "Finding Minnesota: Discovering Cedarhurst Mansion". Retrieved 2009-10-21.
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