Parabiographies entry, Volume for 1910
Text by William Gray Purcell
for 1912

Job Date (in Parabiographies): April 2, 1912

C. I. BUXTON DWELLING, Owatonna, Minn.

A very appreciative couple. I looked upon them as "middle aged" people. They had a grown son. In 1950 Wayne Andrews, Curator of New York Historical Society made a tour of the U.S.A with a principle purpose of photographing Purcell and Elmslie buildings. He went to Owatonna to photograph this and other things of ours there, not omitting, naturally, Sullivan's great bank. I was astonished to learn that after 38 years Mr. and Mrs. Buxton were still living in the perfectly preserved and (except for color) unchanged house was had built for them. The lot dropped away toward the rear affording opportunities for development of both the plan and the elevation. Our Miss Parker took a great interest in this house, and together she and I spent time and study on every smallest arrangement and detail. The plan is a perfect piece of articulation and the whole project made functional from every view we could bring to bear upon it. Miss Parker and I take credit for the design. George Elmslie seems to have been busy elsewhere.

[MH: And the below has also characterized my own encounters on the Path]

[Draft of 1952 has a note about Van Evera Bailey that was dropped from the final typed version: " In 1925 I formed my first contact with Van Evera Bailey in Portland, Oregon, and a couple of "those curious coincidences" came out when Van dropped in one day to say that his uncle, who formerly lived in Minneapolis, was in and told him that he had done the plumbing for us on the Buxton house in Owatonna. A couple of years later Van was working in Boise, Idaho, and while there met the contractors for the new post office.  Van was speaking to them about me and my work; they sent their kind regards, and said they were the father and two sons who were contractors for our McCosker house, Minneapolis, 1907.]
 

research courtesy mark hammons