James J. Hill House

James J. Hill House

                In 1864, young shipping clerk James J. Hill met a waitress working at the Merchants Hotel in St. Paul, where he often took his meals.  This woman's name was Mary Theresa Mehegan, and she was born in New York City.  She was the child of Irish Immigrants who settled in the frontier town of St. Paul in 1850.  Mary attended finishing school in Milwaukee, and then married Hill in 1867.  The James J. Hill House architect was Peabody and Stearns, and the architectural style was Richardsonian Romanesque.  Over the next eighteen years they had 10 children.  Children grew up in the house, and four daughters had their weddings in the large drawing room.  Newlyweds often stayed in the house until their own homes were finished, many of which were close by on Summit Ave.  It's also said that the grandchildren come back and visit the house often. The Minnesota Historical Society states that "James J. Hill built a house that symbolized success, but one that also suited him and his family."