St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-04-05
THE OLD MISSION HOUSE.
j. Fletcher Williams Tells interest.
-.... ..a.cn..ces hnul IL.

j. Fletcher Williams Tells Interest.
ing Rem nisceuces About Et.
The old landmarks of st. Paul are rap
idly disappear ing before the advancing met
ropolitan growth. Old buildings must be
torn down to give place to new and better
ones. One of these ancient landmarks
which is the center of pleasant recollections
for many people now living here is the old
Episcopal mission building standing just
north of College avenue on a high bluff be-
tween St. Peter and Rice street. The land
mark is, rather. a cluster of buildings and
they are now doomed, for pick and shovel
are daily encroaching upon the bank, and
the earth over which the Episcopal church
was founded in st. Paul is being ruthlesSly
carted away. A man full of ST. Paul rem
inisences is J. Fletcher Williams. secretary
and librarian of the State Historical society.
and he was called on yesterday by GLOBE
reporter and asked to give the public what
he could remember concerning the historic
mission site. Mr.. Williams said:
In 1850 three Episcopal clergymen-the
first of that church in the city-came TO st.
Paul. They were Rev Timothy wilcoXs III.
Rev. J. Lloyd Breck and Rev. John A. Mer-
rick They purchased the land iii question
and soon after erected parish school house,
a part of which is, believe, still standing.
sofa Church Foundation" aud included what
would be about four blocks. They al o
started theoogical school to fit young men
for the ministry. but found i guess. that
they could not run it and so amalgamated the
school with the one at Nashata, Wis, sending
their pupils down there. 1t was While the
SCHOOL WIS RUNNING
in 1851 or so that a street was cut through
past the buildings, and in honor of ii was
named College avenue. The college has gone
long ago and there are few people now In ST.
Paul who know why the street was so named.
A part of the ground was also used for "A
cemetery for about ten years. OF the found
ers of the mission Mr.. wilcoXson is still living
at Hastings at an advanced age aud in feeble
health. Mr.. Breck after working among the
Indians in this state and in other missionary
work for several years, went to California
and died there. l do not know what became
of Mr.. Merrick. l have been here thirty
years and never knew him and think he must
have left before / came. The little buryIng
ground in one corner where ST. Peter street
now runs probably contains fifty to hun
dred burials and when st. Peter street was
cut through. about 1860, considerable number
of skeletons were eXhumed, mostly children.
These w re carefully moved to the other
EplscoTa ourying ground, adjoining Oakland
cemetery and now Incorporated in the latter.
In 1851 Brock wrote that the church had
already become a fixture here, so they must
have got their property in pretty good shape.
In 1854 Rev. John V. Van Ingen came here
as rector of Christ church and continued in
that capacity for probably ten years. He
took very active interest IN this church
property and used the mission house and
grounds
FOR A RESIDENCE
for some time. In the fall OF 1866 part of
the property was leased TO some parties TO
build a hotel on. 1t was a fOur-story frame
building called Park Place hotel and stood on
st. Peter street, about half way between Col
lege and Summit avenues Tais was burned
down about 1876. Since then the ground has
been leased TO different parties for residences.
For some years Mrs. E. A. Gill had a school
there-a wel-known school teacher here for
many years. Tho church still owns the
property, but my impression is the churc 4
never owned that strip along next to Rice
street. where the hill lets down very steep
and al ont hundred feet wide If / remem-
Der rightly, there were some graves in the
old cemeter over as far as the east end of
houses on the east side of st. Peter street, so
the tract must have come beyond that street.
don't,know- anything about the cost of the
land, but these clergymen could not have
paid more than $500 or $500 for it. under
stand it now includes all that property be-
tween Rice and St. Peter streets and Summit
and College avenues, and there is no telling
lie