YOUR HOUSE NEEDN’T BE a mansion to impress me.
Just look at this sweet little brick house along Main Street in downtown Waterville.
I’ve never seen a house sandwiched like this, wall-to-wall, between two buildings and tucked into a totally unexpected place.
The owner ducked out of the scene just before I shot this single photo. She loves her home, she said, and that was about it. I didn’t want to overstay my “Can I take a picture of your house?” welcome since she clearly was entertaining guests.
But I really wanted to walk around the fence, right up the brick path and through the front door, just so I could see if the little brick house is as quaint inside as it is outside. And how dark, or light, is it inside that house anyway?
I counted at least four benches where I could sit a spell and chat. Maybe ask about that horse by the fence, the bear bench by the brick wall, how this house came to be, if patrons from the neighboring Corner Bar and Main Street Lounge ever cause problems. You know, stuff like that.
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FYI: This ends, for now, my stories from Waterville. To read my first post about this southern Minnesota lakeside community, click here.
To read my second post about a quaint coffee shop, which also serves as a place for local artisans to sell their creations, click here.
© Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Such a cool find Audrey, I also would wonder how far back the house goes? How may bedroom, is there a basement? I love the little yard and the wrought iron fence….so quaint!
Definitely one of those unexpected finds.
Audrey, the little house is owned by Ron Haslip, the owner of Ron’s Hardware Hank and also The Cafe in Waterville. He and his wife purchased this property a couple years ago and spent quite a bit of time fixing it up before they moved in. The house is actually connected directly to the old Jacobsen hardware store on the left, which Ron also owns. Thanks so much for your wonderful articles on waterville. There is a lot of interesting history in this small town. I especially enjoyed your post on the Singing Hills Coffee Shop … Kathy is my wife! 🙂
Thanks for the info on the house, Jim. That Ron sure owns a lot of buildings in downtown Waterville. I’ve been in Ron’s Hardware once and that’s most definitely a blog post of its own.
You should be proud of Kathy. She’s running a mighty fine business at the Singing Hills Coffee Shop.
Just an addition for Jim’s info….Jacobson’s lived there for many, many years (in the brick house) and according to my dad, one day they just up and closed their store adjacent to the house. My dad was in school then back in the 60’s but even when I grew up in the 80’s and early 90’s you could walk by the store and still see everything in it’s place where they left it. They are both deceased and so is their only child. I’m glad that it seems somebody is taking care of the old place. My parents moved years ago so I rarely get back to roam around and look for changes. I must say, I have been to the coffee shop during Bullhead Days and the food there was excellent!
Cindy, thanks for that additional info. Always good to hear the back story on places I photograph. I appreciate your stopping by.