Ramsey County History – Winter 2003: “The 146-Year History of the Louis Hill House: New Settlers, a Booming Real Estate Market, and a Summit Avenue Site Acquired on Speculation”

The 146-Year History of the Louis Hill House: New Settlers, a Booming Real Estate Market, and a Summit Avenue Site Acquired on Speculation
Author: Eileen McCormack

The Louis Hill home at 260 Summit Avenue was built on a plot of land that was platted in November 1854. Home construction on the street began in 1855 with the home of Edward Neill at number 242 on the edge of the bluff. In 1857, William Noble acquired, but then lost, the property because of economic troubles. Later a man named George Palmes bought the house that had been built on the site. The original house, which was then standing amid a number of much more elegant homes, was demolished in 1901. When Hill bought the lot, he petitioned the City of Saint Paul to vacate a street to enlarge it. The city agreed but said that he was required to put in a public walk and steps from below the hill up to Summit Avenue. James J. Hill and his son, Louis, worked closely with the architects while Louis’s house was being built. Newly married, Louis and Maud Hill moved into the home in 1903. In 1912, they built an addition. In 1954, Louis’s heirs sold the house to a Catholic Church society. In 1961, it was turned over to another religious group for a retreat house. In 2001, a St. Paul family bought and restored the Louis Hill home at 260 Summit.
PDF of McCormack article