For people of a certain age in West St. Paul, the big white house on the hill was the place where kids went swimming in the summertime, the place to buy apples once the leaves started falling in autumn, or where Christmas lights adorned the large pine trees in winter.

And now, the locally historic property on Delaware Avenue is back to the sprawling, rolling greens of a century before.

The estate of the late Olivia Dodge, the woman who donated the Governor’s Mansion to the state of Minnesota among many other charitable acts, was recently demolished. Dodge was also well known for her love of preserving nature, and founding the Dodge Nature Center, which adjoins the property of her former estate.

Dodge’s son, Tom Dodge of West St. Paul, declined comment other than releasing a statement, calling the move “reverse development.”

“To speak on the reasoning of the decision to demolish the house, ultimately, Olivia is no longer with us in person, and restoring the grounds to its natural state felt right and reminded us of what she stood for, which was nature preservation.

‘Those who lose sight of the land, lose a part of their spiritual self.’ — Olivia I. Dodge,” Tom Dodge said in his statement.

He also asked for people to respect his family’s privacy at this time.

As for the future of the lot the mansion stood on: Dodge Nature Center Executive Director Jason Sanders said, “At this time, there have been no discussions to transfer the land to the nature center.”

Bought up farmland

The family still owns several parcels of land in the area. The nature center was established in 1967. Olivia Dodge passed away in 2009.

Olivia and her husband, Arthur, moved to the 37-acre West St. Paul property in 1964, and soon began buying parcels of land adjacent to their home, according to a Pioneer Press obituary. Three years later, the couple had bought 135 acres behind their house.

“The farmers in the area were not making it anymore,” Kim Dodge, Olivia’s daughter-in-law, told a reporter in 2009. “So rather than having developers buy (the land) and put up condos and townhouses, she chose to save it.”

The home was built in 1909 with the large white columns evoking a southern-style mansion. A previous owner had planted apple trees, and the Dodge family connected with the University of Minnesota to produce several different varieties of apples for many years.

Iconic home

West St. Paul Mayor Dave Napier grew up in the city, and fondly recalled biking up the long driveway as a 7 year old. The Dodge family invited area children to swim at the pool, and bounce on the large trampoline at the home, too. And sometimes, if they were really lucky, the kids ended up with some freshly-baked cookies.

“There would be bikes everywhere up there. It was the coolest thing ever,” recalled Napier, who worked at the nature center for 40 years. “This house was iconic in the city of West St. Paul.”

It was a place that built community, he said, with families buying apples from the orchard during the fall, and trick-or-treating at Halloween with the home completely decorated. Dodge was a huge fan of the Minnesota Wild, so at other times a large banner hung over the front door, visible from the street. She often entertained in the home, inviting the more than 130 volunteers, staff and their spouses from Dodge Nature Center for an annual holiday party.

Napier, 61, even had his wedding photos taken in the estate’s front yard.

“When I got engaged to my wife, I approached Mrs. Dodge if I could have my wedding photos in my front yard, and she said, ‘Absolutely.’ I remember telling the photographer and he said, ‘There’s no way! I’ve always wanted to get on that front yard with my camera.’ It was a pretty cool thing to have all of our photos in that beautiful front yard.”

Dodge has a well-established legacy in Minnesota. She grew up in the large home located at 1006 Summit Ave., which is now known as the Minnesota Governor’s Residence. Dodge and her sister, Clotilde Irvine Moles, donated the property to the state in 1965. She created the aforementioned nature center, which now has property in West St. Paul, Mendota Heights and Cottage Grove, taking a hands-on role for decades.

It gives Napier mixed emotions to know that the house is gone, he said, with so many memories of decades past. But knowing Olivia Dodge’s wishes — she would walk the grounds of Dodge Nature Center and if a proposed trail had any visible man-made structures in view, she would plant a tree or other foliage so that visitors would truly be immersed in nature — it makes sense.

“It’s sad to see it go, but if the family felt the necessary thing to do was to return it back to green space, no one loved green space more than Mrs. Dodge,” Napier said. “She was larger than life in the community. This person had a heart bigger than the world. The biggest heart I’ve ever felt in my life for sure.”