MINNESOTA ARCHITECTURE - HISTORY INVENTORY FORM

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Property Name: Lincoln Park County: Blue Earth

Address: 200 Lincoln Street City/Twp: Mankato

PIN: R01.09.18.160.001

Legal Description: To wit Fractional Block of 14 in Warrens Addition to the City of Mankato

__________------___-_________Property Information______--_____----________

Architect: Not known Style: Open Space

State Historic Context: Railroad and Agricultural Date Constructed: 1886

Development 1870-1940

Historic Use: Park Present Use: City Park

Property Type: Site Local Historic Context: Civic Services 1850s-1950s

NR Status: Listed as a contributing park Survey Name: Mankato Local Designation Survey

within the Lincoln Park Historic District

Prepared by: Courtney Kramlinger Survey Date: September 26, 2013

Description:

Lincoln Park is located in the central area of the City of Mankato and is bounded by South Broad Street, Grove Street and

Lincoln Street, forming a 0.5 acre triangular shaped park. Lincoln Park's location atop a hill provides excellent views of

the Minnesota River Valley looking out to the northwest and Central Mankato looking out to the northeast. Today

Lincoln Park holds passive green space and a walking trail intersecting the western side of the park.

History:

The small triangular public green space dates back to the Civil War and is named after President Abraham Lincoln and

serves as a memorial to those who fought in the Civil War. The desire to honor the memory of Mankato's Civil War

veterans prompted a citizen's committee headed by John H. Ray to purchase the triangular parcel of land in Warren's

Addition. On September 1, 1886, Trustees to Lincoln Park turned over the deed to the City of Mankato.

The Alexander Wilkin Post of the Grand Army of the Republic erected a bronze monument in Lincoln Park of a Civil War

soldier standing on guard at the center of a stone basin. Together, they formed a fountain. The soldier’s monument was

referred to as The Boy in Blue and was dedicated in 1893, a year after Mankato author, Maud Hart Lovelace, was born.

Thirty years had passed since the Civil War had torn the nation apart. Mankato’s efforts to memorialize its fallen heroes

was part of a national effort to build monuments and hold commemorative encampments on Civil War battlefields. A

3,000 pound mortar-gun completed the veteran’s memorial.

Lincoln Park has housed many distinctive features over the years. In May of 1900, a Howitzer cannon from the Spanish-

American War was dedicated as a memorial to its causalities. A notable incident occurred on July 4th, 1909, when seven

boys set off the old cannon as a prank. The recoil of the blast shattered windows throughout the neighborhood. No

injuries were reported, but the boys spent the summer working to repay the damages. Today, no traces of the soldiers'

memorial remain. A windstorm toppled the statue destroying it and the cannon was removed in 1943 to be melted

down for the war effort and a windstorm toppled the statue destroying it and the monument and basin were removed.

The park's most notable living memorial, the 300 year old elm tree affectionately known as Lincoln Elm, was designated

as Mankato's official symbol in 1976, the year of America's Bicentennial celebration. Despite efforts to prolong its life,

the stately tree succumbed to Dutch Elm Disease. When it fell in 1983, tree ring dating revealed it to be 315 years old

The Lincoln Park neighborhood has a quality blend of 19th-20th-century architecture and served as the center of living for

the top of Mankato's social ladder. They spared no expense when constructing their elaborate custom, hand-crafted

houses. They built a variety of styles, the most popular being Queen Anne, Colonial Revival and Craftsman. The Lincoln

Park neighborhood was built mainly between 1856 and 1930 and the neighborhood was placed on the National Register

of Historic Places in 1995. As it remains today, it is one of the most intact late 19th- and 20th-century well-maintained

residential neighborhoods in Minnesota.

Lincoln Park remains the focal point of the neighborhood, just as it did during local author Maud Hart Lovelace’s

childhood. Maud Hart Lovelace grew up in the Lincoln Park neighborhood residing on Center Street. In several of

Lovelace's Betsy-Tacy stories, Maud referred to Lincoln Park as “the end of the neighborhood.” To go beyond was a rite

of passage for her and her friends, Frances Kenney (Tacy) and Majorie Gerlach (Tib). In an article published in the

Mankato Free Press in 1952, Maud wrote, "As we grew older we made more trips downtown, pausing to play by the

fountain at Lincoln Park or rest under the big elm tree."

Evaluation:

The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing park within the Lincoln Park Historic

District.

Integrity:

Lincoln Park holds high integrity historically for its continued sense of pride within the neighborhood. Though the park

has lost notable features such as the cannons, original fountain, and the Lincoln Elm, local citizens have joined together

to raise funds to replace the Boy in Blue fountain and sculpture that once stood in Lincoln Park. Work on the fountain

began in May 2013 and is anticipated to be finished in 2015.

Significance:

Lincoln Park has significance locally because it has character, interest, and value as part of the development and heritage

of the City of Mankato. Lincoln Park is also significant for its physical characteristics which represent a familiar visual

feature of the Lincoln Park neighborhood and the City as a whole.

Condition:

Lincoln Park is in very good condition. The lawn is well groomed and maintained.

Sources:

Blue Earth County Historical Society. Vertical Files. Accessed September 2013.

Zahn & Associates LLC, Thomas R. (2010) City of Mankato Historic Context Study. Retrieved from http://www.mankato-mn.gov/upload/images/Mankato%20Context%20Study%20M-res.pdf.

http://nrhp.mnhs.org/nomination/95000671.pdf

Photographic Documentation:

Above: Photo of the former Lincoln Elm, cannon, and Boy in Blue

fountain, at Lincoln Park, all which have since been lost; date not known.

Above: Former Boy in

Blue fountain which

has since been lost;

date not known.

Above: Photo of Lincoln Park looking west. The base of the

Boy in Blue fountain which is being reconstructed along with

a memorial to civil war veterans are pictured.

Above: Photo of Lincoln Park looking east.

Sanborn Maps:

Above: Photo of Lincoln Park Heritage

Plaque installed for the 150 year

celebration of Mankato.

Left: Photo of

memorial to Civil

War veterans.

1889 Sanborn Map.

1900 Sanborn Map.