Tour offered of Victorian home

From 1850 to 1855, groups of Norwegian immigrants registered and received land parcels in central Wisconsin, building homes and clearing land for farming. These lands were to become known as the village of Scandinavia on the South Branch of the Little Wolf River.

At the time, there was only wilderness between Winchester and Scandinavia.

Four of those original 1850s land patent certificates are on display in the restored Victorian home of Jon and Linda Durrant in Scandinavia.

Their home was built in 1893 by Norwegian immigrant John Olsen Wrolstad, a U.S. Civil War veteran and owner of a successful logging business and flour mill.

Second owners were Thomas and Maren Quien family who owned the house for 90 years until 2007.

The Durrants are the third owners of the Victorian Wrolstad-Quien home, located at 255 Mill St. in Scandinavia.

The historic home will be open to visitors for guided tours from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 26-27.

A $3 donation at the door benefits the Humane Society of Waupaca County and is the reason the Durrants host this event each year Halloween Weekend.

During the house tour visitors will see a full range of Queen Anne architecture. Wrap-around front porch, turned columns, bay windows, cutaways, corbels, and short spindles that look like spinning tops. The house’s faux bois woodwork was not only fashionable at the time, but considered lavish to have artisans paint woodwork to look like quarter sawn oak, walnut, and mahogany.

Windows and doors are decorated with Eastlake spoon carved flower blocks, fluted rails and stiles.

Visitors will alsd see original pocket doors, fancy wood spandrels, etched glass doors featuring herons, and a stairway stained glass window filtering colorful lights on the foyer floor.

A donation of $3 at the door will help support the support the Humane society of Waupaca County.