9/22/2009:
It was announced by the Fargo Forum this week in 1974 that the Comstock House in Moorhead, Minnesota was being considered for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. The listing was created in 1966 as part of the National Historic Preservation Act, and is maintained by the National Park Service. Nominations are submitted to the Park Service, and are evaluated in order to identify historic buildings or archaeological sites worthy of federal protection. The Comstock House's nomination was considered and approved by the Minnesota State Review Committee on October 1st. The committee, working in conjunction with the State Historical Society, declared the Comstock House to be a fine representation of late Victorian architecture, as well as the home of one of the area's first settlers, Solomon Comstock.
Solomon Comstock was born in Maine in 1842. He came to Minnesota in 1869, and became one of the first settlers in the Red River area when he moved to Moorhead the following year. Comstock worked as both an attorney and a realtor in Moorhead, and as the Clay County Attorney from 1875 to 1881. He began his political career in 1876, when he was nominated to serve on the Minnesota State Legislature. In 1889, he was elected to the United States Congress. Active in the community, Comstock is perhaps best remembered today for establishing the State Normal School in Moorhead, which is now known as Minnesota State University Moorhead. He also established the First National Bank in the city, and served as President of the Northwest Land Company. In this latter capacity, the settler worked alongside James Hill to build the railroad through Moorhead. Comstock's daughter, Ada, went on to become the first Dean of Women at the University of Minnesota, as well as the President of Radcliffe College.
Today, the Comstock House stands on Eighth Street in Moorhead, where it is preserved and open to the public for guided tours and viewing.
Dakota Datebook written by Jayme L. Job
Sources:
The Fargo Forum. Friday, September 20, 1974: p. 11.
http://www.nps.gov/nr/about.htm
http://www.mnhs.org/places/sites/ch/
http://www.placeography.org/index.php/Comstock_House,_506_Eighth_Street_South,_Moorhead,_Minnesota