Editor’s note - This is the fourth in a series of stories about houses located within the Campbell Park Historic District in Huron.

Compiled by Ron Volesky
People know the home by many different names, but for a large percentage of the community it is known simply as Huron’s Mansion.

Huron’s Mansion is located at 726 Dakota Avenue South. This magnificent structure was built in 1903 by J. W. Campbell, who helped found the First National Bank in 1882, and later became the bank’s president. He was an influential and important citizen in Huron, and Campbell Park, which is located diagonally across Dakota Avenue from the house, was named in his honor.
Later, Dr. J.S. Tschetter operated a hospital in this building from 1923 to 1943. Dr. Tschetter also served as mayor of Huron from 1940 to 1945.
For more than 100 years this historic structure has been the hub of the political and social fabric of Huron. After the death of Dr. Tschetter, Dona Brown purchased the house from Dr. Tschetter’s widow, Viviana Tschetter. Ms. Brown opened this house to all citizens of Huron and hosted many political and social events during the time she owned and occupied the home. She displayed many of her beautiful antiques, as well as original Harvey Dunn and Oscar Howe paintings throughout the mansion.
Also during this time, for a period of 14 years from 1976 to 1990, local attorney and former State Senator and gubernatorial and attorney general candidate Ron Volesky lived here. Mr. Volesky occupied an eight-room suite on the second floor of the mansion.
This house is a large, elegant two-story Colonial Revival style house with a combination of Federal and Georgian influence. It has a side-gabled roof and pediment gable ends, with decorative dentils and modillions in the entablature. The main entrance faces west and is set with sidelights beneath an elliptical fanlight. A secondary entrance is located on the south end of the house, near a garage adjacent to the home, and beneath a Georgian stair light.
A large one-story, half-octagon porch with paneled wood pilasters and one-over-one windows is located on the rear (east) façade and was enclosed prior to 1946. A small one-story porch is centrally located on the south façade. The corners of the clapboard walls are articulated by wood quoins. Many of the windows are triangularly divided eight-over-one sash. An unadorned rectangular single stack interior chimney straddles the roof at the north end of the building, and an additional rectangular chimney is located slightly behind the roof peak toward the rear of the building, slightly off-center to the south. The house is approached from a semi-circular drive, which was part of the original design of the property. The house originally had a large half-circle front porch that was destroyed by fire in 1943.

PHOTO BY ANGELINA DELLA ROCCO/PLAINSMAN
This house, at 726 Dakota S, has been a hospital as well as a home in its 115-year lifetime in Huron.