Historical Society Hosts February Lunchbox Lecture Lunchbox Lecture: Mysteries, Mischief, and Mayhem of Murray County 2021 Cemetery Tour – Slide Show Drive Through Comfort Food Fundraiser MCHS Annual Meeting Summer Raffle Fundraiser Winners Second Annual Cemetery Tour Calling all Tree Decorators – Holiday Open House Traveling Exhibit Makes a Stop at the MC Museum Small Grant Awarded for Collections Project 2021 Front Porch Music Series Frank Thayer: An Architect’s Story by Rose Moudry Baseball of Murray County by Bill Bolin Call for Project Bids Dinehart Lecture: Railroads of Murray County Lunchbox Lecture – Murray County in the 1920s PowerPoint Large Grant Awarded for Work on Dinehart Holt House Lunchbox Lecture – Draining the Great Oasis Lunchbox Lecture – Cemetery Tour Slide Show Self-Guided Cemetery Tour Covid-19 Self Interview Take Home History — Free Educational Packets for Children Murray County Historical Society Receives SMAC Grant for 2020 Dinehart Holt House Front Porch Music Series Murray County Historical Museum “Doing Our Bit” Murray County Historical Museum has another great year! Lunchbox Lecture – Nov. 14 Walt Benton and his Music Preservation Tips: LUNCHBOX LECTURES – SEASON SIX VOLUNTEERS NEEDED International Holiday Traditions 2019 Annual Meeting Glensheen: The Musical Mnopedia Story – Sweetman Catholic Colony 2018 Fundraiser A Tale of Twenty Typewriters: The Process of Deaccession Become A Member Dinehart Holt House Historic Structure Report Mnopedia Story – Chandler-Lake Wilson Tornado (1992) Mnopedia Story – Murray County Mnopedia Story – Minnesota’s First Female Sheriff – from Murray County Mnopedia Story – Murray County Fair Legacy grant helps Museum hire a writer for MNopedia Articles New in the Collection Legacy grant helps Museum Purchase a new Microfilm Reader Keeping the Collections: Deaccessioning Textile Inventory Project Waning Years of the 1891 Murray County Courthouse Brought to Light

The Dinehart-Holt House

The Dinehart-Holt House

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This beautiful Victorian home was built in 1891, the same year as the original Murray County Courthouse.  Mr. Christopher Dinehart was so impressed with the courthouse’s architect, Frank Thayer of Makato, that he hired Thayer to design a home for him.

The family had moved to Slayton in 1882.  Mr. Dinehart was one of the founders of the State Bank of Slayton and later became its president.  The Dineharts owned much farmland in the county and raised sheep, hogs, and Jersey cattle.

Flora Dinehart owned the first piano in the county, and the community would gather once a week to enjoy music.  The Dineharts’ openhearted hospitality was a well-known characteristic of the home.

Christopher passed away in February of 1927, and Flora in June of 1938.  The Dineharts’ son, Clarence, who served as a Minnesota State Treasurer, died of a ruptured appendix at the age of 33.

Florence Dinehart, Christopher and Flora’s daughter, continued to live in the home with her husband, Harvey Holt.  The Holt family had three children: Harvey Holt Jr., John, and Robert.  Judge John Holt was the last member of the family to live in the house.  He passed away in 1993.

The Dinehart-Holt House has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1973.

Following the death of Judge John Holt, the house and many of the furnishings were sold at an estate sale.  The house was put up for sale again in 2007 and purchased by Murray County to be used as a Historic House Museum.  The essential character of the house remains and provides visitors with a glimpse into the early days of Slayton and Murray County.

The Murray County Historical Society is responsible for the maintenance, contents, rental, and use of the home.

The Dinehart Family
The Dinehart Family
2016 Murray County Historical Society