Before arriving in Peoria in 1856, Sidney Pulsifer acquired a large, undivided parcel on the Middle Bluff, roughly bounded by North Street, Knoxville Avenue, Columbia Terrace, and State Street. A large undeveloped portion along the brow and face of the bluff north of Main Street became known as Pulsifer's Grove and was famed for panoramic views of the city and the bluffs across the river, making it a popular place for picnics and outings for many years. After immense but unfortunate loans to local distillers caused the private banking firm of S. Pulsifier & Co. to fail in June 1877, this large tract was offered for sale, and many depositors purchased the bank's claims to the real estate at discounted rates, opening this part of the Middle Bluff to residential development. By the mid-1880's, prominent residents increasingly used elaborate architectural designs to demonstrate social standing, and in 1888-89 Mr. and Mrs. John C. Wynd received a Queen Anne-style residence on the bluff as a gift from Mrs. Wynd's father, local distiller John H. Francis. Designed by area architect Warren H. Milner, the house reflected a style popular from 1880-1900, marked by asymmetrical composition and varied forms, textures, materials, and colors, often including towers, turrets, tall chimneys, porches, bays, encircling verandas, and colored and beveled glass. After Mrs. Wynd's untimely death in 1891, ownership changed several times, and among its long-term occupants were Colonel and Mrs. Frederick H. Smith, whose hospitality made dinners, luncheons, and balls in the basement-level ballroom highlights of the Peoria social season.