Take a Tour
Shortcut to Civic and School Life Feature Site.

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The social services offices of the county are housed in this restored 1910 building that served for years as the Rice County Jail. The structure, built of cinder brick and Kettle River cut stone, includes an impressive rounded tower accenting the entrance and a red tile roof. Albert Schippel of Mankato was the architect, and the contractor was William O’Neil and Son of Faribault.

The Art Deco courthouse, constructed of native limestone and dedicated in 1934, includes an inlaid marble floor map of the county and an overhead rotunda and dome. It is the third courthouse for the county; the first was outgrown, the second partially destroyed by fire in 1931. Rice County at one time was comprised of a large portion of southeastern Minnesota. An election in 1855 changed the location of the county seat from Cannon City to Faribault, contributing to the town’s success.

The church, built of native blue limestone, is modeled inside and out after a typical New England church. It was designed by St. Paul architect Monroe Sheire. The church bell, originally belonging to the town’s first congregational church, weighed 1,000 pounds and came by river from Whitinsville MA, then by ox cart from Hastings, MN. When the first two Congregational churches united in 1874, the bell from the first church was moved to its current location. The central memorial window of the church is titled "The Resurrection Morning". It was made in New York and shipped to Faribault.

This church, strongly resembling a Greek temple, was dedicated in December, 1915. It is the third church on the site; not surprising, since the land was given to church founders with the strict stipulation that the site always be used for a church. Distinguishing architectural details of the building include the great dome over the sanctuary and the Tuscan style columns.

Because the Cathedral was Bishop Whipple’s own "See Church", it was often unavailable to the congregation of the Church of the Good Shepherd. Therefore, church leaders in 1894 laid the cornerstone of the Guild House in memory of the Bishop’s brother, Reverend George Brayton Whipple, who had served as rector of the Church for many years. The Guild House, designed by William H. Jewett from New Haven, CT, features rockfaced sandstone and brick with a hipped and gabled roof. Interior features include the processional frieze which surrounds the dining hall, the fine stained glass windows, and a replica of Boston Library’s color mural of the Search for the Holy Grail.

Architects Wilcox and Johnston of St. Paul designed this rough cut stone building, which serves as Shattuck School’s main academic structure. Note the complex mass of towers, turrets, gables, arches and windows. The 400-seat auditorium is reputed to have "nearly perfect acoustics." The building was a gift from Mrs. Augusta Shumway of Chicago as a memorial to her late husband.

Considered one of the finest examples of English Gothic architecture in the Upper Midwest, the Chapel’s steeple is one of only a few in the U.S. constructed of stone. The chapel is constructed of blue limestone, quarried at the south edge of Shattuck’s campus. Interior features include a monastic pew arrangement (all pews face the center aisle) and stained glass windows designed and cut by Carvers of London in 1871.

This limestone academic building was constructed in three stages. The east wing, built in 1902, houses 12 classrooms and, originally, a basement-level bowling alley. The west wing was built from 1907-1908 and houses school offices and programs. The central auditorium, built from 1909-1910, joined the two older buildings into one. The building is named for the school’s second superintendent, Jonathan L. Noyes, who came from Philadelphia and was the school administrator for 30 years. The building, constructed of local limestone quarried near Falls Creek Park, was designed by C.H. Johnston, Sr. of St. Paul.