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Dressing the Part

Subhead
Rock County Historical Society offers tours of Luverne's downtown architecture, Hinkly House
Lead Summary
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By
Mavis Fodness

A trolley tour of Luverne business district’s historic buildings drew almost 30 people to the Thursday night event.
The Rock County Historical Society sponsored the one-time event to educate the public on the history of Luverne and Rock County.
It also coincided with Luverne’s weekly evening shopping.
Historical Society President Betty Mann dressed the part as a tour guide for the three half-hour tours in the 12-passenger trolley.
Tours began and ended at the Historic Hinkly House on North Freeman Avenue.
The house was built by R. B. Hinkly, a bank president and businessman, in 1892. Many of the buildings on the tour were constructed during his time in Luverne.
On the tour Mann combined Hinkly history with a little humor.
The home located to the south of the Hinkly House was built for one of the Hinkly daughters. The house its located one foot from the south lot line.
“She wanted to get as far away from her parents as possible,” Mann explained.
The two dozen other buildings were highlighted with similar stories.
One special stop was the former Herman Motor Company building on East Main Street.
Mann said Hinkly purchased the original portion of the condemned building in 1915 and converted it into a garage.
In September the former garage will be the Historical Society’s new History Center.
After the trolley tours, participants were able to tour the Hinkly House in a special evening open house.
Regular open house hours for the Hinkly House are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 2 to 4 p.m. from June through August.

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