"Marry me, and I will build you a Castle"
Joseph J. Brechet, a successful businessman in Glencoe, MN, invested his energy and passion into offering a general merchandise business for the town, which supplied the residents with many of their daily needs.
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| Joseph with brother Barney in 1870 |
The story goes, that a relative who lived in Buffalo, New York, arranged for a correspondence between him and Jennie C. Frankenstein, a young woman in that eastern city.
Letters went back and forth, and Joseph decided to make a visit to the city of his birth. Two weeks later, in February, 1889, Jennie and Joseph were married. They say, he told her he would build her a castle if she would marry him. Joseph brought his bride back to Glencoe to live.
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| Bertha, Jennie and Jay Carl |
In December, 1889, their daughter, Bertha Marie Julia was born, and in 1893, their son Jay Carl was born.
Construction on the "Castle for Jennie" started in 1898, and was completed by 1899. Story has it that farmers in 1895 who were indebted to Brechet at his business, could pay off their debt by bringing field stones to town for his foundation. The stone foundation reaches up to the second story of the three story home.
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| Laying the infamous stone foundation |
The home was designed by a Chicago architect hired by Joseph. Photo above, shows the stone foundation going in. You must stop by sometime and take a look at the craftsmanship of the precision cutting of the stones around the doors and windows. It is truly amazing. The family lived in a small house on the property while the house was being built.
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| Early photo of the home at 831 13th Street, completed in 1899 |
