Historical Profiles of::Afayo Dr. Charles H. Mayo and Mayowood During summer in Minnesota, the state is filled with activity as people enjoy the recreational and agricultural opportunities that the relatively short season offers. Dr. Charles H. Mayo, the younger Mayo brother, participated energetically in such summer pursuits. On his Mayowood farm southwest of Rochester, Minnesota, he was an avid agriculturalist and conservationist. His concerns for the land and its wildlife anticipated some of the best of today's environmental thinking. Dr. Charlie devoted a sizable portion of his 3,OOO-acre Mayowood estate to the development of groves of trees and underbrush that would help control erosion and provide recreational space. He firmly believed in some type of active recreation. He also appreciated the value ofa good diet, rich in vitamins, coupled with plenty of exercise, preferably outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine. A lover of flowers, Dr. Charlie favored chrysanthemums, which he grew in his greenhouse at Mayowood. In 1934, he noted that he had 165 varieties of chrysanthemums plus other varieties of flowers. Mayowood was a game refuge where no shooting was permitted. The flock of giant Canada geese that inhabit Rochester originated from Dr. Charlie's feeding of Canada honkers on his country estate. Besides the geese, Dr. Charlie encouraged the growth of American and Japanese deer in the shelter of trees on his land. He also established a model dairy operation that helped set local standards for producing clean, pure milk. As a youth, Dr. Charlie enjoyed life on his father's farm in southeast Rochester. Edith Graham, his wife, also was reared on her father's farm near Rochester. After their marriage, Dr. Charlie and Edith believed that their growing family would enjoy farm life. Around 1907, Dr. Charlie began purchasing land for their Mayowood farm. The original 340-acre tract included a small pioneer farmhouse near the Zumbro River. In 1908, the family built a larger home nearby called Ivy Lodge, where they lived primarily during the summer months. In 1910, construction was begun on the Big House, their large, year-round home, at Mayowood. Featuring several dozen rooms, the dwelling was planned by Dr. Charlie. The rambling house had a pleasant informality that reflected the personality of its owner. The house quickly became a center for distinguished medical guests of the Mayo Clinic. In that era, the few hotels in Rochester were generally small and usually occupied by clinic patients. Because the surgical clinics of the Mayos were attracting increasing numbers of visiting physicians, the Mayo brothers built their homes to accommodate entertainment of these physicians while they were in Rochester. After the death of Dr. Charlie in 1939, the family of Dr. Charles W. Mayo (Dr. Charlie's son) moved into the Big House. A surgeon at the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Chuck, as he was known, continued his father's tradition of hosting distinguished guests of the clinic. Alyse V. Plank, his wife, made tasteful, enhancing modifications to the dwelling. In 1965, a few years before his death, Dr. Chuck and his wife gave the Big House at Mayowood to the Olmsted County Historical Society. Situated on 10 acres ofland, the dwelling is available today for visitors to tour as a historic home listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Clark W. Nelson, B.S. Mayo Historical Unit

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