Minnesota Capitol Furnishings

Folsom Family Furniture, Or Not?

Part of Angel’s Hill Historic District in Taylors Falls, Minnesota, the New England-style Greek Revival Folsom House was completed in 1855 by W.C. Folsom, a lumber baron and state politician. It is now a historic site managed by the Minnesota Historical Society, overlooking downtown Taylors Falls and the St. Croix River.

The house is almost entirely furnished with items from the Folsom family, so site managers presumed the two oak armchairs in the dining room labeled “STATE OF MINN” were a gift to W.C. Folsom upon his retirement from the Minnesota State Senate in 1877.

Over time, Folsom House employees realized the chairs were of a later provenance, and that they came from the 1905 Capitol Building. Indeed, these are 1087 Armchairs purchased by Cass Gilbert for Capitol offices, and Mr. Folsom never sat in them. While the Folsom family’s furniture fills most of the house, Minnesota Historical Society likely brought the State Capitol chairs to the house in the late 1960s, when the Society took over operations and became site managers of the property. The additions from the MNHS collections made the house feel more fully furnished and suitable for visitors. As of the completion of the CGS furnishings project, the chairs remain in the Folsom House dining room.