St. Hubert's Lodge, Frontenac Minnesota
The lodge is extremely irregular in plan and design. Its various shaped wings spread over the ground in many directions. The unusual appearance of the building is due to the exterior siding of 12" wide vertical boards with 3/4" X 3" battens over the joints, the whole having been whitewashed.
In 1854 Israel Garrard came from Kentucky up the Mississippi River to Lake Pepin. He and his brother were on a hunting trip. They were from a wealthy and distinguished family. Their father was twice Governor of Kentucky.
Israel Garrard remained at Lake Pepin, He bought a half interest in the settlement of "Waconia". Everet Westervelt held the other half. "Waconia",or "Westervelt" as they called it, was a beautiful wooded tract on the high bank of the lake. The name was later changed to "Frontenac".
Garrard built the lodge in 1855 with craftsmen brought from Kentucky. The craftsmen found Frontenac so attractive that they also settled there. The double-decker porch gives a southern air to the house. The walls are of vertical boards and battens, all finish having been hand-made. The house is substantially unchanged and contains many articles of historical interest.
Upon the commencement of the Civil War Garrard hurried south. He raised a troop of cavalry at Cincinnati, which he equipped at his own expense, and presented it to the Governor of Ohio. He was made Colonel of the regiment, the Seventh Ohio Volunteer Cavalry. Later, he commanded a division, and on June 21, 1865, was promoted to the rank of brigadier general by Brevet.
The son of the builder, George Wood Garrard, inherited the Frontenac property upon his father's death, and occupied it afterward. The property is now (1933) owned by Mr. W.H.J. Thompson of 2263 Princeton Avenue, St, Paul, Minnesota, who uses it for a summer residence.
Among the noted visitors at the lodge have been Alexis Jean Fournier, Christopher Grant LaFarge (son of John LaFarge), and George L. Hines, who selected Frontenac stone for part of the interior of St. John the Divine Cathedral in New York City.
