For more than a century, this lovely two-story Queen Anne style home has graced the northwest corner of 13th and Center. Mary (Seaman) Ennis purchased three lots on the site in December 1906 and contracted with Fred Hunt for a house. Mary continued to live in the home until 1917.

 

The March 1, 1907, issue of the Goodland Republic celebrated the house's impending completion. The newspaper said, "It means that Goodland is a … thriving metropolis where quite large investment ($5,000) is perfectly safe."  The paper praised the Corinthian columns on the staircase.

 

 

 

The Seaman sisters did millinery (women's hat making) work and the sewing room upstairs pays tribute to that. Look for the package of fabric still in its Millisack's store wrapper.

 

The house became a boarding house until 1930, when Roy Heston turned it into his home. His daughters Gloria and Twila Heston's room is now called the Children's Room. In that room, see the model of the house that Ken Yoke built. 

 

In 1939, the house became Bower Funeral Home. They held funerals on the first floor. The mourners sat in the house's living room. In the living room, look for the charioteer on the chandelier and find a tissue box cover that looks like an Easter Island sculpture.

 

The dining room held the caskets. They bracketed the caskets with floor lamps and kept the shades open so people could walk by and see them. They also owned Bower Furniture at 13th and Main.

 

 

Calvin T. Handy, who owned Handy Chevrolet, bought the house October 6, 1956. Handy family retained the house until Edythe Handy died in August 2000.

 

Sherman County Historical Society purchased the house in March 2001. The society commissioned Elwyn Vatcher to make a stained glass window in the front staircase in memory of Ruth and Selby Soward. Ruth was longtime editor of the society's newsletter. The "SCHS" on the window stands for Sherman County Historical Society.

 

House's kitchen is now the gift shop. Souvenirs of the house and many publications about Sherman County are available. Suggested donation is $5 for adults aged 12-59, $4 for senior citizens and $3 for children aged 2-11.

 

House stands on one of the original brick intersections from 1921.