National Register Listing

Colonial Hall and Masonic Lodge No. 30

1900 3rd Ave., S., Anoka, MN

Colonial Hall, planned and built by Drs. Alanson and Flora Aldrich in 1904, is a significant historic and architectural building in Anoka. Historically this building is important due to its association with the medical practice and the civic contributions of the Drs. Aldrich. Architecturally Colonial Hall represents the only well-preserved Anoka example of a Frederick Marsh-designed Georgian Revival house. As the office and museum of the Anoka County Historical Society and the Anoka County Genealogical Society, Colonial Hall continues to make a historical contribution to the county.

Dr. Flora Aldrich, a descendant of the Hudson Valley Knickerbockers, and Dr. Alanson Aldrich, a native of Massachusetts, moved from New York to Anoka in 1883. Prior to 1883 they had studied and practiced medicine together in Baltimore, Chicago, New York, London, Paris, and Vienna. Their Anoka practice was devoted to the treatment of eye, ear, nose, and throat ailments.

Dr. Flora Aldrich, civically active throughout her residence in Anoka, served in 1890 as the first president of the Philolectian Society, a women's social club. She also served as Vice-President of Anoka's first library board. As a noted author, Dr. Flora Aldrich contributed to various medical journals. In addition, she wrote My Child and I, a turn-of-the-century child-rearing guide for mothers. Throughout her life, she was a devoted member of the Minnesota Medical Society and the American Medical Association.

Dr. Alanson Aldrich, who had established renown in his field in Europe and on the east coast before moving to Anoka, maintained a medical practice for thirty-three years in both Anoka and Minneapolis. Through his contribution to ophthalmology journals. Dr. Alanson Aldrich maintained a national reputation as an innovator in his field. He was a member of the Hennepin County Medical Society, the Minnesota Medical Society, and the American Medical Association.

In 1922, after the death of the Drs. Aldrich, Colonial Hall, and its contents were sold to the Anoka Masonic Lodge. Soon after, the Masons constructed a two-story Masonic Hall to the northeast of Colonial Hall. In 1971 Colonial Hall was leased to the Anoka County Historical Society. The Masons retained ownership and continued to meet in the hall.

Local significance of the building:
Health/medicine; Architecture

Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.