History

Prospect House

Civil War Service

James A. Colehour enlisted for Civil War service in 1862, along with his brother, with Company I, 92nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry and served until the end of the war. You can view his uniform sleeves with the visible holes where he was shot twice. You will be able to follow the map of his unit during the war including the Battle of Chickamauga, where he was wounded, and Sherman’s “March to the Sea”. Cap’s collection of Lincoln memorabilia shows his patriotism to our 16th President. You will be able to view Cap’s collection of Civil War items and many pictures and articles. This Museum is the highlight of the Prospect House tour!

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James Allison “Cap” Colehour

In his own words “I commenced this squally life on January 28, 1842 in Willistown Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania,” the sixth of eight children of Henry and Hannah (Richards) Colehower. He had six brothers and one sister. His paternal grandparents, John and Catherine Kohlhauer came to America in 1804, arriving at Philadelphia, PA. His maternal ancestors came to America around the time of William Penn’s settlement of Pennsylvania, and were mostly Quakers.

James grew up on the family farm until April 1854, when his parents moved to Mount Carroll, Carroll County, Illinois. His father died the next year, when James was thirteen years old. He attended the Mount Carroll Seminary School when not working on the family farm. His mother always wanted him to be a minister, although this institution was serving as the public school initially.

In 1860, James moved back to Philadelphia, PA to help at his brother Isaac’s store. He was paid $10 a month with hours from 5 A.M. to 11 P.M. He soon tired of that and may have worked at the Confectionery & Ice Cream Saloon at 3912 Market Street in West Philadelphia, PA, which was owned by Mary (Colehower) Free, a first cousin, and her husband.

Civil War

After the Civil War broke out James returned to Mount Carroll and enlisted for Civil War duty on August 9, 1862 in Company I, 92nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He volunteered for a three-year term of service, or the length of the war, as did his brother, David Colehour. His physical description in his file stated that he was five feet six inches tall, fair complexion, blue eyes, and brown hair and was 20 years old.

James and David were mustered in on September 4, 1862 at Rockford, Illinois. James received a “bounty” of $25 and a “premium” of $2 at Muster-in roll. He was promoted from Private to 1st Corporal on October 10, 1862.

Both James and his brother David soon came down with typhoid fever, with David dying at Nashville, TN on March 17, 1863. Their brother, Hiram Colehour, came down for the body, not knowing if James was going to survive. Unfortunately, it was Hiram that caught the fever and died on May 6, 1863. To add to their mother’s misery, brother Isaac Colehour died on December 4, 1863, making three brothers dying in a span of nine months.

In late 1863 he was transferred to the Mounted Infantry. James served in many battles during the war. He was shot in the right shoulder in the Battle of Chickamauga on September 19, 1863. He rejoined his company in January 1864 and on January 25, 1864 was shot in the left shoulder at Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He was given 40 days sick leave and then rejoined his company. He and his company then fought with General Sherman on his infamous “March to the Sea.” His soldiering ended on June 21, 1865 at Concord, NC and he was discharged from service on July 8, 1865 in Chicago, IL.

James dictated the story of his war experiences to his son James in a manuscript labeled “Outline of our Daddy’s Wanderings during the early sixties or Three Years with Old Glory amid hardships, joys and privations.” During the war James had written many letters back to family members and many of them are still extant and in possession of descendants.

Chicago and Battle Lake

James stayed in Chicago after the war and worked in the Chicago Post Office from 1865 to 1882. He lived in Lake View Township, where he was noted as being Town Clerk from March 1870 to March 1871. On May 1, 1872 he was married to Catherine August (Kate) Catlin, the daughter of Seth and Helen (Griswold) Catlin, in a double wedding with Catherine’s sister, Helen, who married George Phelan.

Soon after his marriage he bought a lot in Lake View Township for $1500 and built a home. At this house were born their first two sons, Robert Allison on September 7, 1875 and James Alexander on December 21, 1879. While living here James became captain of a large rifle club and retained the nickname of “Cap” the remainder of his life.

Other residents in Lake View were his mother, sister, Sue Jacobson, and brothers Charles and William. Cap’s health became a concern in the early 1880s and was advised by his doctor to relocate somewhere with better atmosphere. An Army buddy had already moved to Battle Lake, MN and persuaded Cap to move there. He sold his Chicago house for $2700 and in March 1882 he traveled by train to Battle Lake via St. Paul and Fergus Falls. The rest of his family came on April 15, 1882. On April 29, 1882 Cap bought lots 12 and 13 in Battle Lake for $50. Later that year he purchased part of lot nine from Sarah Sherman.

He partnered with E. A. Everts in the lumber business in Battle Lake and worked there until 1886. On December 24, 1884 a daughter was born, Kathrina Helen. In 1885 he built the “Chicago House” with the same blue prints he used on his first house. Cap’s sister, her family and their mother Hannah also moved to Battle Lake in the 1880s, with the sister later moving to Detroit Lakes, MN.

In 1887 Cap added on to his house with the intent to open as a hotel for summer guests. When finished this was called the “Prospect House” and was operated as a hotel until 1929. As business increased Cap bought lots 10 and 11 in 1896 and built a small house he called “San Juan” which the couple moved into so they could rent more rooms in the main house. The couple’s last child, Charles Wilson, was born on October 26, 1896. The couple operated the Prospect House until 1925. Cap was 83 years old when he retired. They sold it to their son-in-law, Ernest Wilkins in 1929 for $6000.

Later Years

Cap had many interests over the years and served his community well. He served four terms as Mayor, was Justice of the Peace, was on the school board and was president of the light company. He was a member of the First Baptist Church. He was a member of the GAR Stanton Post #33 of Fergus Falls as well as the Everts Post of the GAR. Cap had the first telephone and the first electric lights in the village. He took an active interest in historical events and gathering historical data and had opened several Indian mounds for the Smithsonian Institute. He was a member of the Otter Tail County Historical Society. He was president of the Agassiz Society of Historic and Scientific Research. He enjoyed hunting and fishing.

Cap took to calling himself “Old Grizzly” and his home was “Old Grizzly’s Den.” Cap took ill with the flu in mid December 1938, suffered a stroke on December 18 and died on Christmas Day 1938 due to a cerebral hemorrhage. He achieved the age of 96 years 10 months 27 days. His wife, two sons, daughter, 12 grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and his sister survived him. His wife joined him on July 28, 1940, at age 89. They are buried side by side in Lakeview Cemetery in Battle Lake.

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Jay Johnson

Jay Johnson, great grandson of “Cap” Colehour, is the founder of the Prospect House & Civil War Museum. He grew up visiting his grandparents who lived in the eighteen-room mansion built in 1882 by his great-grandfather “Cap.”

“I didn’t grow up in the Prospect House, but I’ve been in and out of it since the day I was born. My grandparents (Cap’s daughter and her husband) lived there and my parents lived only ten miles away.”

Eventually, Jay’s mother and father moved into the family home that “Cap” built. When Jay visited, he felt a kinship with the big old rambling house, but visits centered on family occasions that took place downstairs. Not even after the death of his father – when his mother took over running the house herself – did Jay venture into the nooks and crannies of the big, old house.

But Jay’s mother, Kathryn Wilkins Johnson, declined in physical and mental health in the early 2000s. Jay moved from his farm in nearby Amor, Minnesota to the Prospect House to care for her. For five to six years prior to his mother’s death, Jay looked after her, first seeing to it that she had what she needed, then looking after meals and medications, and finally helping her dress and eat as she sunk into the final stages of dementia.

During those five to six years, Jay had time on his hands. In his younger years, he’d heard of Civil War memorabilia stashed somewhere in the eighteen-room house, where 125 years and three-generations of family belongings had accumulated. He decided to search for the Civil War memorabilia.

What Jay discovered

In idle moments, I explored the big, old house…

“In idle moments, I explored the big, old house. My searches were rewarded. I found a chest filled with nearly 200 Civil War letters. I found the sleeves to my great-grandfather’s uniform with a bullet hole in each one where he’d been shot during the Civil War. I found a fife, buttons from a uniform, a cartridge box, a tent, a cap box, a powder flask, a bullet mold, two diaries, typhoid serum, Lincoln-Johnson campaign poster, belts and buckles, a flag and battlefield souvenirs. There are many pieces of this large historical puzzle still yet to be found.

Jay’s exploration yielded more than artifacts and memorabilia, though, it yielded insight.

Insight into Cap’s collection

The Civil War collection at the Prospect House is not about the Battle of Gettysburg, the Battle of Lexington, or other battles of the war. Instead…

The Civil War collection at the Prospect House is about Cap Colehour and his part in the Civil War. When Cap was at Chickamauga – the bloodiest two-day battle of the war, with 35,000 casualties – he was shot. He believed at that time he would not survive the war, and he began writing more letters, saving more of what he found around him, and sending things back home so people would know his story.

Cap’s collection tells the story of a young soldier… a brother…a son. It tells of life after the Civil War when soldiers – the lucky ones – returned home. It tells of lives built on memories that never quite faded.

In the end, my great-grandfather lived to the age of 96 years, 11 months, having survived two shootings and a bout with typhoid fever during the Civil War. The letters and accounts he sent home, the clothing, diaries and other belongings with which he returned, and the artifacts he collected after the Civil War tell his story – a uniquely personal story.

The amazing discovery of letters from the battlefield, typhoid serum and uniform sleeves, fife, cartridge box, tent, cap box, powder flask, bullet mold, belts and buckles, flag, “Cap’s” Spencer rifle and cartridges, his brother David’s sword – and the death of his mother – moved Jay to action.

Even while continuing to sort and organize, he opened for tours of the house and collections. He called it the Civil War Museum and put out a sign.

The Civil War Museum

With the passing of my mother, I feel it’s up to me to tell the story now.

“I opened for tours the summer of 2008. With nearly 2000 visitors so far, 100s of names on the guest book, and many repeat visitors bringing back friends, it is definitely being noticed as an interesting local attraction. It’s bigger than that – some think it is a national treasure.”

Until a proper museum can be built, the Civil War collection is housed in the Prospect House. It’s hardly a disadvantage, however, because the house itself is worth the trip to Battle Lake.

The Prospect House

My great-grandparents were of some means and filled the house with fine rugs, furniture, glassware, china, artwork, books, collections, toys, fine clothing and, of course, all modern conveniences of the day. The Prospect House is filled with the lives and accumulations of several generations of my family, accumulations of more than 125 years. The wealth of a bygone era remains intact. Most is as it had been in 1929 when it was remodeled, with the third floor left as it originally was. – Jay Johnson, The Image of a Civil War Soldier

Jay was in his early 50s when he set himself the task of sorting through the forgotten recesses of the Prospect House. Even now, he’s not yet sixty, but to see him you’d think he’s just stepped out of the Civil War himself. A tour of the Prospect House and Civil War Museum with Jay as guide is to be transported back in history.
–The Prospect House & Civil War Museum – A Story of Perseverance

Jay had slim means with which to start a museum. His livelihood – a tree business in Otter Tail County – brought him satisfaction, but not much disposable income. Expenses associated with his mother’s and father’s deaths left him even less.

Yet he felt an obligation to preserve what he’d found and to share it with others. He began by sorting through 175 years of family belongings: Civil War stuff to the basement; toys, paper dolls, and games to a third floor room; hats and dresses to a bedroom; china and silver to the dining room; and on and on. He assembled collections: campaign buttons, 19th century buttons, 150 years of pens. A friend built display cases, and Jay arranged the collections to great artistic effect. He asked for favors: Will you sort through the china and clean the dining room? He traded favors: Work on the gardens and I’ll cut down that ailing tree. Little by little, he brought organization to chaos. He started giving tours of the house and the Civil War collection. He kept fuel in the furnace through long, cold winters. He continued to sort, arrange, and clear away piles of accumulated possessions.

But he finally realized he couldn’t do it alone. He asked a few people who supported his dream to help. He formed a Board of Directors and worked with an attorney to file the necessary paperwork. His cousin – William Colehour and wife, Jean – joined the effort. In August 2010, the nonprofit Prospect House & Civil War Museum came into being. The organization supports Jay’s dream of preserving family treasurers and sharing “Cap’s” story with others. The organization supports Jay’s dream of preserving family treasurers and sharing “Cap’s” story with others.

Jay’s perseverance embodies the Colehour spirit. The family fortune was lost, and yet the family survived.

Family Fortune Lost

The family fortune was lost during the crash of 1929. The family rarely purchased anything after that. As they had everything they needed, the circumstance didn’t bring on the hardship one might expect. The family learned to do with what they had. Because the family was small, the house large, and the Depression rooted in their minds, they were able to preserve the home and property.

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