FAIRMONT - The temperature gauge in front of Pioneer Parsonage reads $20,000, quite a ways from Martin County Historical Society's $130,000 goal.
The society bought the house in February for $70,000. Lenny Tvedten, executive director of the museum, estimates the cost of renovating the parsonage to showcase more local history will be an additional $60,000.
Built in the early 1900s, the house was a rectory for St. Paul's Catholic Church until the 1950s, when the congregation moved from the corner of Blue Earth Avenue and Elm Street to its current location and renamed itself St. John Vianney Catholic Church.
The Pioneer Museum, located next door to the old rectory, used to be St. Paul's Convent School.
"This is a historic part of Fairmont," Tvedten said.
As he stood on the front porch of the parsonage looking west, he faced Red Rock Center for the Arts, the former post office, Fairmont Opera House and Southern Minnesota Education Campus, the former Central School building.
"Why not try to preserve it?" Tvedten said of the rectory's fate. "It's an obvious fit. ... It's part of what was here in the past."
The building also provides more display space for the museum.
"If you walk around the museum, you can see there's no place to put anything," Tvedten said.
Inside the house, a hallway leads to a spacious sitting room that features the original built-in fireplace. Hardwood floors hide underneath ratty carpet. An enormous kitchen occupies much of the first floor, with a second kitchen in an adjoining back room - an indication of another part of the house's history when it was occupied by renters. On the second floor is a fireplace similar to the one below, equally elegant. But the upstairs is accessible only by a tiny doorway - more of a cupboard really - or an exterior door on the front porch.
"To get it into the condition we want for a museum, there's going to be a lot of work," Tvedten said.
Accompanying Tvedten on a recent tour of the house were Paul and Drew Schellpeper, as they learned more about the local history in which they're investing.
Each year, through their investment business, the father and son try to make a donation to a local cause - something they know customers at Edward Jones will appreciate. They decided this year to donate matching funds up to $5,000 to help with the historical society's goal of purchasing and renovating Pioneer Parsonage.
"We recognize with the current economic situation we're in, fund-raising has gotten a lot tougher," Drew said.
"We've done matching funds before," Paul said. "It has a lot of appeal for people if they can double their donation."
There is no set time limit on their matching contribution, but the sooner the better, the Schellpepers said.
"We always encourage people to be charitable on a local basis," Paul said.
When work begins on the parsonage depends on how successful the historical society is with fund-raising. In the meantime, a committee is deciding exactly how the house will be used to display historical memorabilia.
"There are a lot of different ways we could go," Tvedten said. "We could have different rooms decorated in different periods from the house's history."
To make a donation, contact the Schellpepers at Edward Jones at (507) 238-4244 or the Pioneer Museum at (507) 235-5178.
