This Historic Home Near Medford Will Be Demolished
Residents, visitors to or those who are passing through Medford will have a different view if they are coming from the south soon. It appears as if the Daniel Piper home, located just to the South of town, will be demolished after being purchased recently by Barr Properties.
The home and land it sits on was for sale recently, and it appears a buyer came through for the property. The home, which is architecturally significant, as it is the only type of New England style interconnected home left in Minnesota.
Piper had New England architects and tradesmen come to the Medford area in 1877 to build the home, which featured interconnected rooms/buildings throughout. Some of the connections include a "house, summer kitchen, shed, and barn" according to the home's Wikipedia page.
Barr Properties in a recent meeting with the Medford Planning and Zoning commission indicated that if the land was not allowed to house storage sheds on the property that the building would come down.
It seems that even if the storage sheds were built that the home would be coming down.
You can see what the inside of the home looked like most recently, here.
I'm rather bummed out by this news, as the home is still rather breathtaking as you go by with the unique architecture. The home was also something you could point to and talk with someone about, with all of the possibilities that it could become.
I was chatting with Brian Schmidt this morning on Facebook Messenger about it, and I felt he too was saddened to know that the Piper House has seemed to finally has met its fate, not in grandeur, pomp, and celebration, but rather a bulldozer and backhoe. Torn to wood and rumble. It is a shame.
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