Rufus Rand
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/RRRandJr.jpg/220px-RRRandJr.jpg)
Rufus Randall Rand Jr. (May 25, 1892 – October 15, 1971)[1] was an American businessman, military officer and politician who served as the first mayor of Wayzata, Minnesota in the 1920s. He was the maternal grandfather of Sheldon Whitehouse, a United States Senator from Rhode Island.[2]
Biography
[edit]Rand was born in Minneapolis to Rufus Rand Sr, Vice President of the Minneapolis Gas Light Company, and Susan Mealey Rand. The family had built Rand House as a summer estate in 1884, 8 years before his birth.
His two grandfathers were State Senator Tobias Mealey and Mayor Arthur Rand, of Minneapolis.[3]
He served as an aviator during World War I, flying for Lafayette Escadrille.[4]
He was the President of the Minneapolis Gas Company. During the 1920s he entered politics and served as mayor of Wayzata and built Rand Tower, which is now a Marriot hotel.[5]
He also built the Rufus R. Rand House at Still Pond, a 25000 square foot, 63-room mansion, in 1931 for US$400,000 (equivalent to $8,014,004 in 2023) and sold it to Cargill in 1944.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ "Rufus Randall Rand". geni_family_tree. 2022-07-27. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
- ^ "Rufus R. Rand, the Last Member Of Lafayette Escadrille, Is Dead". The New York Times. 1971-10-19. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
- ^ madeline (2023-05-31). "Still a Memory". Lake Minnetonka Magazine. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
- ^ "Rufus R. Rand". Minnesota Aviation Hall Of Fame. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
- ^ "About Our Minneapolis Hotel | Rand Tower Hotel | Marriott". Rand Tower Hotel, Minneapolis, a Marriott Tribute Portfolio Hotel. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
- ^ McLernon, Lianna Matt (2020-08-26). "Cargill Decides to Demolish the Still Pond Mansion". Midwest Home. Retrieved 2024-09-02.