Houston House

David Henderson Houston was born in Glasgow, Scotland on June 14, 1841, and came with his farming parents to Cambria, Wisconsin. He entered Dakota Territory in 1879 searching for farmland and chose a homestead and timber claim south of Hunter, North Dakota. After his first home, built with cheaper materials, blew down in a storm and killed a hired hand, he had an elaborate storm shelter built with an elegant mansion on top of it using stronger materials in 1886. The mansion featured maple floors, cherry and oak wainscoting, a walnut staircase, and ornamental ceilings, with a main front area for the Houston family and a back half containing the kitchen and living quarters for the staff. Houston brought his wife, Annie Laurie (Pencille) Houston, there after their marriage in April 1888, and their son, David Henderson Houston, Jr., was born in 1889. Annie often traveled to Florida with young David in winter while her husband stayed home and worked. In 1906, Houston was caught outdoors in a blizzard while walking home from Hunter; although he found shelter, the chill caused significant trauma and he died three months later. Annie and David Jr. continued living in the house for a time, then sold the farm and moved to Florida. The back half of the home was later removed, and the main half was donated to Bonanzaville in 1971.

North Dakota · United States