Von Hoffman House Continued

Let's take a look at the Von Hoffman House. Feel free to walk in any of our open doorways and go upstairs!

   The rooms reflect how the Von Hoffmans intended the house to be set up, and also how the rooms were used when the Foleys lived here. A lot of the furniture is original, and the rest is period. The wallpaper and wall colors are chosen from historical paint and wallpaper palettes. For example, the wallpaper in the parlor is from 1890 (early Edwardian), and the paper in the dining room premiered in the spring of 1884.

   This house was built in the Southern style because the Baroness was originally from the South. The hallway is wide with doors on either end, called the dog run, because in the summer there would be screens covering the doors and the doors would be left open so air could circulate (or the family dog could run straight from one end of the house to the other- hence the name).
There are three rooms on either side of the hallway, and a set of stairs that lead upstairs.

                          Notice the original wicker furniture, tapestries, and hall secretary.

We also have examples of Eastlake furniture near the door, which were very popular at the time. You can see similar examples in the Custer House at Fort Abraham Lincoln in Mandan.

 

The first two rooms, nearest the front door, would have originally been parlors in the Victorian style. The wallpapered room would have been the family parlor, and is displayed as a parlor now, and the bedroom would have been intended to be the more formal parlor. When the Foleys moved in, they kept one parlor, the family parlor, and used the other for the master bedroom (which was originally intended to be where the kitchen is shown now). The furniture in the bedroom includes original bed frame, bed springs (against wall), dresser, and mirror stand with wash basin. You can still see 'W Van Driesche' written on the inner right side rail of the bed, and one of the pieces still has the original railroad shipping receipt on the back.



Take a closer look at the bed springs. There were screws at the top to adjust the tension of the springs. It's like a sleep number- 1884 version!

 

    The family parlor contains original horsehair-upholstered side chairs, mirror, and piano stool. This piano is not original, but we are on a hunt to find the original one. It was the only piece of furniture left in this house when Mrs. Davis moved all the furniture out at the creation of the Foley Family Museum. Sometime before the creation of the Doll House, the piano disappeared.

 

    The room adjacent to the family parlor is the library. The Foley family used it as a bedroom, but now it is displayed with many pieces of furniture donated from Governor Ed Schafer. The original pieces in this room include the bookcase with glass fronts, and the captains' chair.

 

   Across the hall from the library is the dining room. This room kept its intended purpose over the years. The  table and 12 chairs are original, although the chairs have been re-caned. They would have been caned initially, but somewhere over the years they were upholstered with leather seats. An artisan near Minneapolis re-caned them for us in a month- doing an average of 3 a week! There is evidence of a pass between this room and the room on the other side of the wall (servant room/office). That way, if the Von Hoffmans had lived there with servants they could have passed the food straight from the servants room to the dining room, much like in the Marquis' hunting cabin.

 

Now, the room meant for servants is used as an office, and would have probably been a mudroom/entryway for the Foleys. You can tell that it was meant for servants, though, because the flooring is made of a different, cheaper material, and is painted.

The room across from the servant room/office is shown as a kitchen now. This room has the most difficult history to uncover. It was meant to be the Von Hoffmans' master bedroom, but the Foleys most likely used it as a kitchen and later as a bathroom. There was an outdoor kitchen located in the corner of the yard, but the Foleys probably did not use it. The building was rented out to a miner named Conrad 'Dutch' Zeigler who used it as a blacksmith shop in the boardinghouse years. Now, the kitchen holds appliances and traveling art exhibits. This year, it contains carvings from Frank Koch, a member of the Flickertail Carvers from Bismarck. They depict life on the prairie in the 20th century.

   Upstairs there are letters displayed on the walls written between Theodore Roosevelt and Joe Ferris (a friend and owner of the dry goods store in town. Joe Ferris and his brother Sylvane took Theodore out on his first buffalo hunt in Dakota in 1883.). Feel free to look around. Make sure you look for the license plate nailed to the floor!

We think it is either from 1923 or 1933, but research is still being done. The year has been cut off the side of the plate. There are examples of similar ND license plates here and here.

I hope you enjoyed the Von Hoffman House- visit again!