John T. Cyphers House
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John T. Cyphers House | |
 The John T. Cyphers House from the southwest | |
   | |
| Location | 661 Quinnell Avenue North, Lakeland, Minnesota |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 44°57′29.5″N 92°45′59″W / 44.958194°N 92.76639°W |
| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1858 |
| Architect | John T. Cyphers |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| MPS | Washington County MRA (AD) |
| NRHP reference No. | 71000442[1] |
| Designated NRHP | September 10, 1971 |
The John T. Cyphers House is a historic house in Lakeland, Minnesota, United States. It was built in 1858 using an early form of concrete poured around undressed rock. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 for having state-level significance in the theme of architecture.[2] It was nominated as a rare Minnesota example of Northern European-style masonry, particularly unusual in a logging region with plentiful lumber.[3]
Early Lakeland settler John T. Cyphers read an article in an 1855 edition of the St. Paul Pioneer Press suggesting a concrete mixture as a building material. This mixture, known at the time as "grout", comprised lime, sand, mud, and gravel. In 1858 Cyphers began constructing a house for himself using this method.[4] He formed the core of the walls with small, undressed boulders.[3] He outlined the two-foot-thick walls with wooden frames and poured in the grout.[4] The principle walls were all built this way, but above the first story the gables, roof, and dormers are all wood.[3]
