Glensheen, the Historic Congdon Estate is a 20,000 square foot mansion in

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

, United States, operated by the

University of Minnesota Duluth The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is a public university in Duluth, Minnesota. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and offers 16 bachelor's degrees in 88 Academic major, majors, graduate programs in 25 different fields, and a ...

as a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...

. Glensheen sits on 12 acres of waterfront property on

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

, has 39 rooms and is built in the Jacobean architectural tradition, inspired by the Beaux-Arts styles of the era. The mansion was constructed as the family home of Chester Adgate Congdon. The building was designed by Minnesota architect Clarence H. Johnston Sr., with interiors designed by William A. French Co. and the formal terraced garden and English style landscape designed by the Charles Wellford Leavitt firm out of New York. Construction began in 1905 and was completed in 1908. The home cost a total of $854,000, equivalent to more than $22 million in 2017. The home is a crowning example of design and craftmanship of the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

in the early 20th century.

Description

William French's interior exhibits Late Victorian, Arts and Crafts, Federal Style, and Art Nouveau styles. French also designed the furniture for the house to coordinate with the style in each room. The rooms are trimmed or paneled in Circassian walnut, mahogany, cypress,

fumed oak ''Fumed Oak'' is a short play in two scenes by Noël Coward, one of ten that make up '' Tonight at 8.30'', a cycle written to be performed across three evenings. Coward billed the work as an "unpleasant comedy in two scenes". The play concerns ...

, enameled birch, and American walnut, with the furniture in each room made of the same wood used in the woodwork. The original furniture brought into the house in 1908 and '09 remains in virtually the same place it has been for 110 years. Some of the wall coverings and upholstery are also original. The hallways exhibit original stenciling in the Arts and Crafts style as well as wood carving. Wall and ceiling coverings are made of wool, silk, filled burlap, and gold leaf. The doors throughout the home are made of two kinds of wood, with oak on the hallway side and the variety of wood used in the room on the other side. The furniture in the eldest son's room, for example, is decorated with ebony inlaid motifs that are repeated in the oak paneled walls. Chester Congdon's art collection hangs in the home as it did when the Congdons lived there. The collection includes works by American artists Charles Warren Eaton,

Henry Farrer Henry Farrer (March 23, 1844 – February 24, 1903) was an English-born American artist known for his tonalist watercolor landscapes and etchings. Life Farrer was born in London, the younger brother of artist Thomas Charles Farrer. Thomas ...

Childe Hassam Frederick Childe Hassam (; October 17, 1859 – August 27, 1935) was an American Impressionist painter, noted for his urban and coastal scenes. Along with Mary Cassatt and John Henry Twachtman, Hassam was instrumental in promulgating Impressioni ...

Albert Lorey Groll Albert Lorey Groll (1866–1952) was an American artist and etcher. He was born in New York City and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, Germany, the Royal Academy in Antwerp, Belgium, and for some time in London. In 1910 he was el ...

, Hamilton King, Lawrence Mazzanovich,

Henry Ward Ranger Henry Ward Ranger (January 29, 1858 – November 7, 1916) was an American artist. Born in western New York State, he was a prominent landscape and marine painter, an important Tonalist, and the leader of the Old Lyme Art Colony. Ranger became a ...

, Peter Alfred Gross, David Ericson, C. F. Daubigny,

Henri Harpignies Henri-Joseph Harpignies (; June 28, 1819 – August 28, 1916) was a French landscape painter of the Barbizon school. Life He was born at Valenciennes. His parents intended for him to pursue a business career, but his determination to become a ...

, and many more. The house also contains a silk embroidery done by Japanese artist Watunabe. In addition to the main mansion, the estate has its own Carriage House, Gardener's Cottage, and Boathouse on Lake Superior.

History

In 1968 the estate was given to the

to own and operate. At the time,

Elisabeth Congdon Elisabeth Mannering Congdon (April 22, 1894 – June 27, 1977) was a wealthy resident of Duluth, Minnesota, USA who became famous after she and her nurse were found murdered on June 27, 1977. Biography Elisabeth Congdon was born to mining magna ...

(Chester Congdon's youngest daughter) was given a

life estate In common law and statutory law, a life estate (or life tenancy) is the ownership of immovable property for the duration of a person's life. In legal terms, it is an estate in real property that ends at death when ownership of the property may ...

, allowing her to occupy Glensheen until her death. On June 27, 1977, Roger Caldwell, the second husband of Elisabeth Congdon's adopted daughter, Marjorie Congdon LeRoy Caldwell Hagen, was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and received two life sentences for the murders of Elisabeth Congdon and her nurse, Velma Pietila, on June 27, 1977. Marjorie was charged with aiding and abetting and conspiracy to commit murder but was acquitted on all charges. In 1982 Caldwell's conviction was overturned by the Minnesota Supreme Court. He was set to be retried but pleaded guilty and submitted a full confession. He was later released from prison, and in 1988 he committed suicide. In the intervening years, Marjorie Congdon Caldwell Hagen was twice convicted of arson, for which she served 12 years in prison, and was once wanted for bigamy in North Dakota. In 1979, two years after Congdon's murder, the mansion opened to the public. For years, the third floor and attic were closed to the public due to safety concerns over limited access, but both areas were opened to small group tours in 1992. The estate is 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 popular culture

The movie ''

You'll Like My Mother ''You'll Like My Mother'' is a 1972 American horror and thriller film directed by Lamont Johnson, from screenplay by Jo Heims based on the novel of the same name by Naomi A. Hintze. The film stars Patty Duke, Rosemary Murphy, Richard Thomas and ...

'' was filmed at the Glensheen mansion. The movie starred

Patty Duke Anna Marie "Patty" Duke (December 14, 1946 – March 29, 2016) was an American actress and mental health advocate. Over the course of her acting career, she was the recipient of an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awa ...

and Richard Thomas, released on October 13, 1972. The American/Australian documentary television series ''

Behind Mansion Walls ''Behind Mansion Walls'' is an American documentary television series on Investigation Discovery that debuted on June 6, 2011. The series, hosted by Christopher Mason, tells the stories of crime and investigation that are unveiled in wealthy fam ...

'', on

Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. As of February 2015, approximately 86 million Amer ...

, dedicated half of episode seven, in its debut season, to the murders of

and her nurse. The American television show ''Mansions and Murders'' featured the story of the murders of Elisabeth Congdon and her nurse Velma Pietila. The show also spoke of some of the crimes that Elisabeth's adopted daughter Marjorie committed, such as arson and forgery as well as her acquittal of the murders. The title of the episode is "Goodnight Nurse". It is the 3rd episode of the 1st season and aired on May 6, 2015. In 2015, a musical based on the murders titled ''Glensheen'' was created by

Jeffrey Hatcher Jeffrey Hatcher is an American playwright and screenwriter. He wrote the stage play ''Compleat Female Stage Beauty'', which he later adapted into a screenplay, shortened to just ''Stage Beauty'' (2004). He also co-wrote the stage adaptation o ...

and Chan Poling. The movie ''Girl Missing'', starring Francesca Eastwood, was partially filmed at Glensheen, featuring the grounds, the shore of Lake Superior, and the exterior of the house.

References

External links

Glensheen Historic Estate, University of Minnesota Duluth

{{authority control Historic house museums in Minnesota Houses completed in 1905 Houses in St. Louis County, Minnesota Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Museums in Duluth, Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in St. Louis County, Minnesota University museums in Minnesota University of Minnesota Duluth 1905 establishments in Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota Gilded Age mansions Jacobean architecture in the United States