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Mellette House was built
by Arthur Calvin Mellette and his
wife, Margaret Wylie Mellette, and four sons on Prospect Hill
in Watertown,
Dakota Territory
about 1885. The
house was constructed in the Italianate
style which was popular in the period.
Mellette
House was constructed of bricks made in a
local brick yard owned by Mellette and his friend and business
partner, William
McIntyre.
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Mellette
House as it looked when the Mellette family lived there.
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Mellette
House circular staircase. |
The most imposing feature of the house is
a massive circular
staircase which ascends from the ground floor through the second story
and into
a small tower room located on the third floor.
The staircase is said to have been built in Minnesota
and sent by train to Watertown
for installation in the House. It
is one
of the House’s most beautiful and arresting features.

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Also on the first floor are a
library/office, a magnificent
double parlor, a dining room,, and a kitchen with pantry.
After the Mellette
family’s tenure in the
House, a carriage house/garage was added to the property and that has
been
retained. Today it
serves as a museum
which houses Mellette family and early Watertown
memorabilia.
The House
was a lively place when the Mellettes were
in residence. The large double parlor,
west parlor, and dining room were the site of many elegant parties and
political gatherings . You can almost
hear the voices and music of the time. |
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Mellette
House kitchen stove. |
The second
floor contains a sitting room, four
bedrooms, and dressing room. The third
floor tower room is a small room which provides an outstanding view of
the
surrounding countryside. It is primarily
a reflection of the architectural style of the period rather than a
truly
usable room in the House. The back stairs
lead to the pantry and kitchen. |
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After the Mellette family left the
house and Watertown
in 1895 it
served as a private residence for many years.
In 1929 Watertown ’s
first radio station found a home in the Mellette House.
Eventually it was divided into an upstairs
and downstairs apartment and then slid into a steady decline. In 1943 it was condemned
by the Fire
Department and slated for demolition. |

Mellette
House before restoration began.
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The Mellette Memorial
Association was then formed to save
the House After
much fund raising the
property was purchased for $500.00.
Work was immediately started to restore the
house to its former
glory.
In 1953 Charles
Mellette, the last surviving Mellette
son, gave many of
the original
furnishings, personal papers, paintings, and even some of his parents' clothing to
the Mellette Memorial
Association. The
House was opened to the
public for tours. On
August 13, 1976 it
was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. |
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The work of maintaining this historic house is ongoing.

Today
we
invite you to tour the beautifully
restored historic Mellette House, a Watertown and South
Dakota treasure.
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