The Congress of the United States passed an Act in 1852 which greatly reduced the size of the Fort Snelling Military Reservation. In that year, General Riley Lucas Bartholomew came to Minnesota and filed a claim on the shores of Wood Lake. Part of the claim had been military reservation land which was now available for settlement as a result of the congressional action. Here he pitched a tent and proceeded to build the two story section of the house making ready for his wife, Fanny, and his children to follow from Wisconsin in the spring of 1853. Soon after building the house, two single story additions were moved from near Minnehaha Falls as finished buildings and adjoined the original house.
Riley Bartholomew was a native of Ohio, born there in 1807, and held the lifetime rank of General in the Ohio militia, General Bartholomew quickly became active in the local affairs of his new home. He was Justice of the Peace and a member of the Republican Constitutional Convention which framed the Minnesota State Constitution in 1857. He also represented District Four in the State Senate.
Active in the Richfield Methodist Church, Bartholomew also helped build the first community schoolhouse, with his brother-in-law, Cincinnatus Gregory. The year was 1854 and the school was Wood Lake School, located at 66th and Dupont Avenue. The orginal log schoolhouse served as the Richfield City Hall until 1874. The Wood Lake School closed its doors in June, 1976, for the last time.
After the death of General Bartholomew in 1894, his son, Winfield, lived on the homestead. In later years the property changed hands through the family and descendents lived in the house and farmed the land until 1962 when the Richfield school board purchased the land and buildings for future use.
Many will remember when it was known as “Keefe’s Market”, a roadside produce stand popular in the Richfield area, run by the Keefes, relatives of Riley and Fanny Bartholomew.
The Richfield Historical Society began with efforts in 1967 by members of the Minnesota Valley Women’s Club to preserve and protect the Bartholomew House for future generations.
The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Sites in 1979 and is listed on the Minnesota Register of Historic Sites.
A few interesting bits about the house…
- The foundation stone is Plattville Limestone, quarried from the nearby river area
- The farmhouse is a frame or sawed lumber house.
- In the cellar it is still possible to see the quartered logs used for joints
- The floors are of northern white pine, which is amazingly durable
- The addition of the single story sections resulted in different ceiling heights in portions of the house
