View of Fox House in its original condition
With
May being National Historic Preservation Month, it seems appropriate to talk
about one of the five National Register sites in Sherburne County. The most obscure and underappreciated of the
sites must be the Herbert Maximillian Fox House. So, we need to look at this structure to
appreciate the impact and influence the site provides.
The original owner and builder of the Fox
House remains unknown. Before Herbert
Fox, Ole Martinson purchased an 80-acre parcel along the St Francis River. He later sold the parcel to Samuel P. Glidden,
who in turn sold it to Fox. With these
transactions, the farm site grew to 160 acres.
Sometime before Fox purchased the property, Glidden or Martinson built
the house.
The
house construction makes the site unique.
All of the original slates on the house were vertical, and load
bearing. There remains very little
horizontal construction in the original house.
This type of construction, for a time, signaled a New England influence. The Fox House maybe the only example of this
construction in Minnesota. 
Fox House post move to SHC
Originally
located on property of the Sherburne Wildlife Refuge, to save the house, it was
moved to the site of the Sherburne History Center. When SHC moved to its present location, the
Fox House was also moved. In spite of
these disruptions, the integrity of the original structure remained intact. Efforts to preserve this unique construction
caused the renovators to envelope the house with horizontal wood slats. Select locations around the house provide
insight to the original construction.
Today,
the house remains on the property of the Sherburne History Center, continuing
to document the influence of New England emigration to Minnesota. Providing yet another example of the
importance of Historic Preservation and reasons to commemorate National
Historic Preservation Month.
As
a minor footnote, the other four National Register sites in Sherburne County
are: The Elkhi Stadium in Elk River, the 1920 water tower in Elk river, the
Oliver Kelley Farm in Elk River, and the Minnesota State Reformatory for Men
Historic District near St Cloud.
