White Bear Lake Historical Society

INTRODUCING

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Fillebrown House
Pops on the Porch
The Gangster Tour Heading Out!

We connect our community to its past, cultivating an understanding and appreciation for our history. We offer tours and special events throughout the year that celebrate White Bear Lake’s colorful past!

• WHITE BEAR’S NOTORIOUS GANGSTERS

WHITE BEAR LAKE WAS ALSO HOME TO NOTORIOUS GANGSTERS – watch the video!

• BALD EAGLE WATER CLUB

The story and history of the Bald Eagle Water Club begins locally in 1953 and shows how the organization gained both regional and national recognition in the water skiing community over the past seven decades. The video was produced by the White Bear Lake Area Historical Society as part of the Bears on Boards exhibit celebrating the 100 year anniversary of water skiing in June of 2022. Watch the video.

• FILLEBROWN HOUSE

The Fillebrowns had a prosperous wholesale fruit business in St. Paul and wanted a peaceful destination primarily for their summer activities. In 1920 the Fillebrowns decided to sell their home in St. Paul and make the White Bear cottage their year-round residence. At that time the separate summer kitchen, once at the back of the property, was added to the rear of the home. Wood stoves were added to the bedrooms and the house was considered “winterized” and livable year-round.

The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and is considered significant based on its architectural design. According to the National Register nomination form, the interior of the cottage is “an excellent, and meticulously preserved, example of stick style decor. Motifs used on the exterior are repeated on the interior. A distinct geometry is evident in the execution of newels and balusters, window and door casements, door panel construction, and ceiling truss-work.”

When the elder Fillebrowns passed away in the 1930s, their children Helen and Arthur, remained in the house. Arthur often traveled for his work, but Helen remained at the home teaching piano lessons to area children, operating a tearoom and even allowing the house to be used as a nursery school for a time. Much of the house was kept the way it had been during the 1920s through the 1940s.

By the 1970s Helen and Arthur were aging and opted to donate the property to the White Bear Lake Area Historical Society to ensure its ongoing preservation. Over the past five decades, the White Bear Lake Area Historical Society has continued the careful preservation and interpretation of this unique property.

The White Bear Lake Area Historical Society has been committed to preserving the Fillebrown House since taking ownership five decades ago. The Fillebrown stands as a tangible link to the summer community that once stood on the shore of White Bear Lake and an opportunity to learn from our past.

For more information about the Fillebrown House or to inquire about tours and special events, please contact us at office@whitebearhistory.org.

4735 Lake Avenue
White Bear Lake, MN 55110

• WHITE BEAR TOWN HALL

Cass Gilbert designed the White Bear Town Hall in his youth. He would go on to design such notable buildings as the Minnesota State Capitol, the United States Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. and many other significant public and commercial buildings across the country.

From 1885 to 2011 this was the official meeting place of the three member Town Board. Today, the building is undergoing a restoration to serve as an interpretive center for students to interact with the history of our area.

Polar Lakes Park

1280 Hammond Road
White Bear Lake, MN 55110