Mantorville, Minnesota · Founded 1854 · Building: 1856
A Mantorville restaurant in an 1856 limestone building, carrying the lineage of John Hubbell's 1854 stage-traveler hotel.
The Hubbell House began in 1854 when John Hubbell built a 16-by-24-foot log hotel for travelers in the new settlement of Mantorville. Two years later, he replaced it with the current three-story limestone building, which became a stopping point on the route from the Mississippi River toward St. Peter. The restaurant remains open today under Powers Ventures, but its multimonth 2022 renovation closure means its historic hotel lineage should not be described as uninterrupted restaurant operation since 1854.
John Hubbell built the first Hubbell House, a 16-by-24-foot log hotel serving stagecoach travelers in the future Mantorville.
Source: Star Tribune, "Mantorville's Hubbell House restaurant goes way back to Minnesota's territorial days," June 17, 2023; The Hubbell House, "History"
Hubbell replaced the log hotel with the present three-story limestone building, which became an important stopping place on the route from the Mississippi River to St. Peter.
Source: Star Tribune, "Mantorville's Hubbell House restaurant goes way back to Minnesota's territorial days," June 17, 2023; The Hubbell House, "History"
CBS Minnesota reported that the Hubbell House guest register includes a signature attributed to President Ulysses S. Grant and identified his stay as occurring in 1876; the original register was not inspected in this review.
Source: CBS Minnesota, "Finding Minnesota: Historic Hubbell House," January 29, 2012
The Hubbell House's official site dates its destination dining experience to 1946, during the long Pappas-family stewardship. The exact ownership-transfer chronology requires further archival verification.
Source: The Hubbell House official website; The Hubbell House, "History"
The Pappas family announced plans to sell the historic Hubbell House to Powers Ventures.
Source: Post Bulletin, "Historic Hubbell House to start 2022 under new ownership," December 1, 2021; Y105FM, "The Hubbell House in Mantorville being sold," December 1, 2021
Powers Ventures took ownership of Hubbell House and temporarily closed it for kitchen and bar renovations.
Source: Post Bulletin, "Historic Hubbell House to start 2022 under new ownership," December 1, 2021; KTTC, "Historic Hubbell House temporary closed for renovations," January 4, 2022
Hubbell House reopened after several months of renovation work.
Source: KIMT, "The Historic Hubbell House in Mantorville sets date to reopen," May 5, 2022
The Hubbell House's official website and current public listings advertised active restaurant service at 502 N Main St in Mantorville.
Source: The Hubbell House official website, accessed August 2026; Explore Minnesota, "Hubbell House Restaurant"; Tripadvisor listing, accessed August 2026
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
Hubbell House has an 1854 hotel lineage and is often described as Minnesota's oldest restaurant, but it closed for several months in 2022 for kitchen and bar renovations before reopening in May. That documented shutdown breaks a literal claim of uninterrupted restaurant operation since 1854.
The Star Tribune's account, drawing on the 1974 National Register application, and the restaurant's own history agree that John Hubbell built a small log hotel in 1854 and replaced it with the current three-story limestone building in 1856.
CBS Minnesota reported that the Hubbell House guest register includes Grant's signature and gave 1876 as the visit year. The Star Tribune also lists Grant among early visitors. The original register and signature were not inspected in this review, so the individual visit remains plausible rather than fully documented.
No reliable source located in this review substantiates a Buffalo Bill Cody stay or signature at Hubbell House. The business and regional accounts name many historic visitors, but Buffalo Bill was not supported by the reviewed material.
The Pappas family announced the sale to Powers Ventures, with the ownership transfer set for January 1, 2022. Later Star Tribune reporting identified Powers Ventures as the company operating the Hubbell House.
The current limestone Hubbell House was constructed in 1854.
John Hubbell built a small log hotel in 1854. He replaced it with the present three-story limestone building in 1856.
Source: Star Tribune, "Mantorville's Hubbell House restaurant goes way back to Minnesota's territorial days," June 17, 2023; The Hubbell House, "History"
The Hubbell House has operated continuously as a restaurant since 1854.
The property has a hospitality lineage dating to an 1854 log hotel, but the current restaurant closed for several months in 2022 for kitchen and bar renovations before reopening in May. The restaurant's own site also frames its dining experience as dating from 1946.
Source: KTTC, "Historic Hubbell House temporary closed for renovations," January 4, 2022; KIMT, "The Historic Hubbell House in Mantorville sets date to reopen," May 5, 2022; The Hubbell House official website
J.B. Hubbell built the original 1854 Hubbell House.
The reviewed historical accounts identify John Hubbell as the builder of the original 1854 log hotel.
Source: Star Tribune, "Mantorville's Hubbell House restaurant goes way back to Minnesota's territorial days," June 17, 2023; The Hubbell House, "History"
Ulysses S. Grant visited The Hubbell House in 1868 and Buffalo Bill Cody signed its guest register.
CBS Minnesota reported a guest-register signature attributed to Grant and dated his stay to 1876. This review found no reliable source confirming a Buffalo Bill Cody stay or signature.
Source: CBS Minnesota, "Finding Minnesota: Historic Hubbell House," January 29, 2012
Hubbell House survived because its early travel-stop role became a destination-dining identity rather than ending when transportation patterns changed. The 1856 limestone building gave the business a durable physical anchor, and the Pappas family later turned the historic property into a regional supper-club destination. Powers Ventures took over in 2022, renovated the kitchen and bar, and reopened the restaurant, preserving the site’s public hospitality role while marking a documented break in service.
The Hubbell House in Mantorville began in 1854 when John Hubbell built a small log hotel for stagecoach travelers. In 1856, Hubbell replaced it with the present three-story limestone building, which served travelers moving from the Mississippi River toward St. Peter. The historic site later became a destination restaurant, with the current dining identity officially traced to 1946 and new ownership under Powers Ventures beginning in 2022.
The Hubbell House has an exceptional Minnesota hospitality lineage reaching to John Hubbell's 1854 log hotel, and it is widely described as one of the state's oldest restaurants. It cannot accurately be called continuously operating without interruption since 1854, however, because it closed for several months for kitchen and bar renovations in 2022. The statewide oldest-continuously-operating-restaurant title remains unresolved until Minnesota rivals are compared under consistent continuity rules.
Joe Powers and Powers Ventures took ownership of The Hubbell House on January 1, 2022, after the Pappas family announced the sale. Powers Ventures closed the restaurant for kitchen and bar renovations and reopened it in May 2022. The restaurant operator is established, while the separate legal owner of the real estate should be confirmed through Dodge County property records.
CBS Minnesota reported that The Hubbell House guest register includes a signature attributed to Ulysses S. Grant and identified the visit as 1876. The Star Tribune also lists Grant among the early guests. The original guest register was not examined in this review, so the stay is historically plausible but requires direct archive or artifact verification.
The Hubbell House reopened in May 2022 after several months of kitchen and bar renovations. The closure began after Powers Ventures took ownership on January 1, 2022. The reopening preserved the restaurant’s future but interrupted a literal continuous-operation claim.
502 N Main St, Mantorville, MN 55955
(507) 635-2331
The Hubbell House is in Mantorville's historic district and its official site lists dinner service with regular Monday and Tuesday closures. Confirm reservations, seasonal schedule, accessibility, group arrangements, and current dining hours before visiting.