National Register of Historic Places

Brightwood Beach Cottage

Litchfield, Meeker County, Minnesota
Listed
May 21, 1978
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
78001551

About this property

Brightwood Beach Cottage is an historic octagonal building on the southern shore of Lake Ripley in Litchfield, Minnesota, United States, that once was a part of the Brightwood Beach Resort of the late nineteenth century. The resort opened in 1889, and it offered cultural amenities such as concerts, classes in fine arts, and other live entertainment. Other summer activities included dancing, ball games, and canoeing and steamboat excursions on Lake Ripley. The Minnesota Editorial Association, in a report at the time, called Brightwood "the most lovely spot in Minnesota" and a "gem of a lake with pebbly shores and blue as the vaults of heaven." Thousands of people visited the resort, many of them wealthy individuals pictured in suits and fancy dresses, but the resort was not financially successful. In 1893, the resort was forced to close, a victim of the Panic of 1893 and competition from resorts to the north that became accessible by railroad. On May 22, 1978, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places

Location

Litchfield, Meeker County, Minnesota
45.09840, -94.53924

Categories

ARCHITECTUREENTERTAINMENT/RECREATION
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Native Heritage
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Nearby Historic Sites

Litchfield Opera House
Industrial
2.1 mi
Litchfield Commercial Historic District
Listed
2.1 mi
Grand Army of the Republic Hall
Industrial
2.2 mi
Trinity Episcopal Church
Industrial
2.3 mi
Ames, Henry, House
Industrial
4 mi

Questions about this property

When was Brightwood Beach Cottage listed on the National Register?

Brightwood Beach Cottage was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 21, 1978.

What type of historic resource is Brightwood Beach Cottage?

Brightwood Beach Cottage is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Brightwood Beach Cottage?

The period of significance for Brightwood Beach Cottage is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Brightwood Beach Cottage?

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