Ever walked into a room and gotten the impression that you just missed someone or that someone just walked out moments ago. CBS station WCCO-TV's Angela Davis got that feeling when she visited a historical house in Scott County.
She toured a home in Belle Plaine, known for its extravagant collection of Victorian furniture and household items, as well as its unusual bathroom.
Before you even set foot in the Hooper-Bowler-Hillstrom House, you get the sense of what like was like in the late 1800s. The rocks out front are stepping stones; what women used to elevate themselves before climbing into carriages.
"A horse and buggy could drive up beside the rock and people could step up nicely, neatly into the buggy from the stepping stones," said Henrietta Stiles of the Belle Plaine Historical Society.
Stiles has been giving tours at the home for more than 30 years. The house was built in 1871, lived in by three families and then taken over by the Belle Plaine Historical Society in 1975.
Since then lots of work has gone into furnishing the rooms in three periods -- the 1850s, late Victorian and the early 1900s. The kitchen is where you will find lots of old school tools.
"You would pour your batter in here, close it, when it was cooked on one side, you would flip it over and bake the other side," said Stiles, as she demonstrated a tool on the stove. "When it was done, you lift it out."
It was children that inspired the second family that lived in the home to make an addition to the house that would later draw lots of attention.
Samuel Bowler and his wife had 11 children and back then everyone had an outhouse across the yard from main house.
The Bowlers decided to make it easier for their children to go potty, so they built a two-story outhouse with a convenient skyway connecting it to the home.
"There are three sizes of seats. This one is the smallest, this is the middle-size and this is the biggest ... This is the prettiest one," laughed Stiles.
There were three holes up and two holes down and different sizes to accommodate small, medium and large bottoms.
There's a diagram on the wall showing how it all works -- how things flow -- and a ventilator shaft to help remove odor.
So do people come just to see the outhouse and end up exploring the rest of the home?
"You know, some do because that's how it's advertised, but after they come through, they see that the house itself has so much more," said Stiles.
The house is open for tours every Sunday afternoon from 1 to 4 p.m. during the summer months. You can also make an appointment to go see it.
