Solomon G. Comstock House

Solomon G. Comstock was a well-respected citizen of Moorhead, businessman, lawyer and politician that had this beautiful Victorian home built for his family in the 1880s. It now serves as a house museum, educating the people of Moorhead on their city's founding and preserving its history.[1]

Comstock moved to the Moorhead area in 1871 because of his job with the Northern Pacific Railroad.[2] He married Sarah Ball in 1874 and began the process of establishing his own law practice. From there, it didn’t take long for him to establish himself as one of Moorhead’s leading citizens.[3] Within a decade of his move to Moorhead, Comstock became the first Clay County Attorney, and his effectuality in that position played a big role in his transition from law to a successful political career. He was elected to the State House of Representatives in 1875,[4] served one term as a Minnesota senator, and one term as the state’s representative to the U.S. House.[5] 

He was also involved in quite a few profitable business ventures. He became a partner in the Red River Land Company, and assisted in building both Bishop Whipple School (which would become the home of Concordia College) and the Moorhead Normal School (now known as Minnesota State University Moorhead). He even held a position on the board of the Normal School for several years.[6] 

Solomon’s wife Sarah was a prominent member of the Moorhead community. She was a founding member of the Moorhead Women’s Club, she was influential in the process of getting a donation from Andrew Carnegie to build the town’s library,[7] and was the first president of the library’s board.[8] She and Solomon had three children together, and their eldest daughter would go on to have an influential career in education, eventually becoming the first president of Radcliffe College.[9] 

In 1882, Solomon began constructing a house for his growing family. He hired Kees and Fisk Architectural firm from Minneapolis, and was very involved in the entire building process as he had a very specific way he wanted everything done.[10] The house itself is a Victorian, characterized by a crossover of Queen Anne Style and that of London architect Charles Eastlake. It cost 45,000 dollars, and was one of the largest and most beautiful homes in the area at the time.[11] 

Solomon lived in the house until his death, a total of fifty-one years, and Sarah lived there for fifty-nine years.[12] It stayed in the family until 1965 when the Comstocks’ son, George, turned it over to the Minnesota Historical Society.[13] The society quickly began the process of restoring the home to its original 1880s appearance, finally opening it to the public as a museum in 1980. It was added to the National Registrar of Historic Places in 1974, and is currently managed by the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County.[14]

[1] Matt Eidem, ‘Solomon G. Comstock House’, MNopedia, June 13 2018, https://www.mnopedia.org/structure/solomon-g-comstock-house.

[2]Eidem, “Solomon G. Comstock House.”

[3] "About the Comstock House", Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County, nd, https://www.hcscconline.org/about-the-comstock-house.html.

[4] Carroll Engelhardt, Gateway to the Northern Plains (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2007), 52, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/cord-ebooks/reader.action?docID=328391.

[5] "About," HCSCC. 

[6] "About," HCSCC. 

[7] "About," HCSCC.

[8] Eidem, “Solomon G. Comstock House.”

[9] "About," HCSCC.

[10] “About the House," Minnesota Historical Society. https://www.mnhs.org/comstock/learn/house.

[11] “About the House," MHS.

[12] “About the House," MHS.

[13] Eidem, “Solomon G. Comstock House.”

[14] “About." HCSCC.