Aurora Staples Inn: Built for a Stillwater Lumber Baron's Favorite Daughter

Editor's Note: This is the second installment of our historic Bed and Breakfast series. If you love Victorian architecture at its finest, intriguing history, juicy gossip and romantic B&B’s read on and discover what life was like in the mid to late 1800s when Stillwater was a boom town and money was no option when it came to building big, beautiful homes.

 Perched prominently on a hill with views of the St. Croix River stands the elegant .

The richly decorative Queen Anne style house with its elaborate gingerbread trim, wrap-around porch and asymmetrical windows captures the romanticism that was the rage during the Victorian age.

The home was originally built as a wedding gift for Aurora Staples, the daughter of Minnesota’s first millionaire, Isaac Staples. Staples, a powerful lumber baron in the St. Croix River Valley during the logging boom of the late nineteenth century, had massive holdings in banking, lumber and farming and was a key player in Stillwater’s economical success at the time. Aurora’s new husband, Adolphus Hospes worked for her father in several of his enterprises.

“Aurora was his favorite daughter because she married the man her father chose for her, so she got the biggest house,” said Innkeeper Cathy Helmberger.

The house was built between 1890-1892 for almost $7,000. The lumber for the home came from the Isaac Staples Mill. The whimsical outside appearance of the house is typical of most Queen Anne’s; however, the inside is often referred to as “masculine” because of the square woodwork and lack of a built-in china cabinet and adornments such as spandrels or fretwork over archways favored by most Victorians.

The front entrance opens to a central hall with a handsome open stairway and a welcoming russet-hued tiled fireplace. Above the fireplace there’s a craved acorn motif that’s seen throughout the home. There’s a cluster of rooms around the central hall, designed to accommodate large families another hallmark of Queen Anne houses.

The house has changed hands many times over the years. Today’s owners, innkeepers, Cathy and Jerry Helmberger bought the house in August of 2002. The renovated third floor is now their private residence. Even though there are many demands to being an innkeeper, the Helmberger’s love the perks that come with the job.

“We meet people from all over the world and have learned so many things from our guests," Cathy said. "Everybody’s in a good mood, I recommend everyone should try a B&B at least once in their life.”

The Inn is completely renovated and offers four rooms and for those seeking privacy there’s also the remodeled carriage house.

The impressive bedroom set in the St. Croix Suite was original to the house and belonged to Aurora Staples. The rest of the room’s antique furnishings were carefully chosen to match the bed.

The large room overlooks the expansive terraced gardens below complete with an arbor for wedding ceremonies. The rest of the bedrooms are decorated in the style of the times and have all of the modern amenities including private bathrooms and whirlpool bathtubs.

The Aurora Staples Inn is a charming getaway for those seeking a romantic interlude and an opportunity to escape modern-day life if only for a while and savor the ambiance of days gone-by "when life was slow and oh so mellow.”