The Patrick Casey House is a historic house in

Aitkin, Minnesota Aitkin ( ) is a city in Aitkin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,168 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Aitkin County. History Before the establishment of City of Aitkin, a transient community of Lexington was lo ...

, United States. It was built in 1901 in a mix of Queen Anne and Neoclassical styles. Original owner Patrick Casey (1849–1910) was a partner in the Potter/Casey Company, the region's leading retail chain. The house was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1982 for having local significance in the themes of architecture and commerce. It was nominated for its association with one of Aitkin's most prominent businessmen at the turn of the 20th century, and for being one of northern Minnesota's few architecturally distinctive residences outside of

Duluth , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

and the

Iron Range The term Iron Range refers collectively or individually to a number of elongated iron-ore mining districts around Lake Superior in the United States and Canada. Much of the ore-bearing region lies alongside the range of granite hills formed by ...

cities.

History

Patrick Casey moved to Aitkin in his 20s, first working as a

teamster A teamster is the American term for a truck driver or a person who drives teams of draft animals. Further, the term often refers to a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a labor union in the United States and Canada. Origi ...

in logging camps. However he met Warren Potter, a former Civil War colonel who owned a series of retail stores in the area. Casey was hired as the manager of Potter's branch in Grand Rapids. When Potter's business partner David Williard retired, Casey was offered the partnership. Together the two men built the renamed Potter–Casey Company into the region's leading retailer. Patrick Casey married Elizabeth Emma Killeen in 1882. They went on to have seven children, though their son Albert Edward Casey drowned at age seven. After Patrick Casey's death in 1910, his widow continued to live in the house for many years. She ultimately downsized and donated the house to the Benedictine Sisters of Duluth, who reopened the building as Maryhill Academy, a parochial school, in 1939. The school closed in 1968, and the following year a portion of the original estate was sold off to build an apartment complex. The Casey House saw use as a

group home A group home, congregate living facility, or care home (the latter especially in British English and Australian English) is a residence model of medical care for those with complex health needs. Traditionally, the model has been used for children ...

, first for teenage girls, then in the 1980s for adults with mental disabilities. In 2001 the building was sold again and refurbished as a single-family home.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casey, Patrick, House 1901 establishments in Minnesota Aitkin, Minnesota Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Aitkin County, Minnesota Neoclassical architecture in Minnesota Queen Anne architecture in Minnesota Houses completed in 1901

History

See also

References