Dr. Isaac S. Cole House
Possibly the oldest home still standing in Chatfield, the brick house was built in 1861 by Doctor Isaac S. Cole. When the Cole family returned to New York in 1872 their interests were sold to local banker J.C. Easton. The home's most recognized features are its color and large frame bay window. Originally it had a second floor balcony with a canopy held in place by slender wooden posts. It has double brick walls and an unusually high foundation which brings in light to the basement. At one point it had three chimneys to keep seven stoves burning. In 1886, J.C. Easton sold the property to the Bolsinger family who ran it as a boarding house. Max Bolsinger and his aunt Jennie Atchison (known to the community as "Aunt Jennie") lived there for almost 60 years.Margaret Snyder stayed here while she wrote the book, "The Chosen Valley."
Fairview
In 1855, Levi M. Bemis moved from Vermont to Chatfield where he become engaged in the mercantile business. Levi did not limit himself to just dry goods however, he expanded his interests into real estate and mortgage banking. As a result of his growing wealth, Levi commissioned a grand new home in fall of 1879 constructed by local builder, Adoph Pavlish. Levi died in 1910 and in 1935 upon the death of his third wife, Jennie Bandel Hendricks in an auto accident, the home was gifted to the Women's Club with a generous stipend to maintain it until it was sold to benefit the club.The home also served as the Boetzer Funeral Home in the 1950's and 60's.
Link Ober House
Just north of the Bemis home and adjoining Hendrick's Park (Chatfield's smallest park) is a three-story home commissioned in 1888/1889 by Abraham Lincoln "Link" Ober and built by Adolph Pavlish. Rougtly thirty years earlier in 1854, Dr. Nelson Allen (Chatfield's first physician) built a log cabin on this site in which he lived and practiced medicine before selling the land to Mr. Ober, a banker with the Chatfield Bank. In 1911 it was purchased by Patrick Henry Laivell who lived there for over fifty years. "P.H." ran the Laivell Clothing Company at 221 Main Street for over five decades. Today, the house is often referred to as the "Perkins house." The Chatfield Brass Band & Lending Library was born out of "a few (of its) spare rooms" by Jim Perkins, a local attorney and musician.At one point, Adolph Pavlish was credited with constructing 1/3 of the buildings in Chatfield.
The Cottage
The Cottage, the second home on what was once the Jason C. Easton estate, was built in 1893 by Lucien Johnson, Easton's brother-in-law and brother to Mrs. George H Haven, owner of The Oaks, the adjoining property to the north. Immediately behind "The Cottage" is the former territorial road which heads east to Winona and forms the house's rear property line. Only two years after building his house Lucian Johnson died, transferring ownership to his sister. The homes design elements lean Greek Revival (symmetrical shape, columns, porch entry, window in the pedimen) with the most notable feature being an unusual window in the front gable.In 1861, Company A of the 2nd Minnesota Volunteers (led by local newpaper editor Judson Wade Bishop) marched out the road behind this home "in defense of the Union."
The Oaks & the Annex
The third and last home on the original Jason C. Easton estate is a virtually unaltered and locally distinctive example of residential Italianate style. It was designed and built for George H. Haven by the Winona architectural firm of Mayberry and Company. George H. was the son of Augustus Haven, one of Chatfield's first settlers and a highly successful merchant. In 1874, George H. married the sister-in-law of Jason Easton and purchased part of Easton's estate then built the house. In 1888, Easton also sold Haven the Root River Bank and moved to LaCrosse, WI. The Greek Revival "Annex" was added in 1892 by George for his mother. This small, connected dwelling reportedly was designed to harmonize with the main house.The home is constructed of bricks made in Chatfield. When it was built it was also fitted with the first furnace in town.
Hazelwood
The architecturally elaborate house of Milo White was reportedly built in 1883-84 (some evidence suggests 1877) as White entered the United States Congress. A Massachusetts native, White had been a Minnesota resident since 1855 and became a prosperous businessman. At the time of his death in 1913 he was the city's oldest living settler.His home is among the best and largest representatives of the Queen Anne style in the area. In "The Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota" it mentions the White House as an unusually embellished and unrestrained version of the Queen Anne style expressed in a brick dwellingMilo White was a state senator during the 1872-76 and 1881 sessions, U.S. Congressman from 1883-1887 and Mayor of Chatfield.
