Students Visit Pulsifer House

Image courtesy of the Putnam County Record
Editor’s note: This article was submitted by Debbie Ward.

The Pulsifer House was built in 1844 by Edward Pulsifer. It is listed on the National Registry of Historic Houses, and is located on the north edge of Hennepin. Here are the highlights from our tour:

On the outside of the house, there are stars between the windows. They’re important because the rods help to hold the building together. This house is very big and had many windows for that time.

On the first floor is the ladies’ parlor. It is hard to believe that the flowers that were made out of wax had not melted. There was a wreath hanging on the wall that was made out of hair. It was made to remember the people in their family. In between the ladies’ and men’s parlors was a sliding pocket door with a traditional door that swings open.

The men’s parlor had a large desk with many different drawers, even a secret one. There was a game table that the men used after they were done eating. Today, there is an ostrich egg on the table. The egg was painted with pictures on the inside.

Upstairs there was a bedroom. The mattress sat on ropes. If they weren’t tight enough your bed would fall down.

The middle room on the top floor contained many different toys. The dolls seemed creepy because they were made out of china and their faces were cracked. The dolls’ eyes stared right at you.

The last room we went to had a staircase that the servants used. The stairs had thin railings and were very long and narrow. Our class went down them very carefully on our way back outside.

Thank you to the PC Historical Society and Mrs. Campbell for teaching us about what it was like to live way back then.

Source: Putnam County Record