Fairlawn Museum

SUPERIOR - "This was the beginning, the very, very beginning of the lumber boom," Maggie Scheibe of Superior Public Museums said.
With one fortune in lumbering and his second in mining, Martin Pattison and his wife Grace called this 42-room Queen Ann Victorian their home for nearly 30 years, after the Twin Ports and the surrounding region began flourishing.

"This was considered the northwest, the end of the road for us at that period of time," Scheibe said.

The home has five stories including the basement and the attic, features 9 fireplaces, six bathrooms and something very unique for its time, electricity throughout.

"You'll see the light fixture here those that are up are your gas lights those that are down were your electric because gas and electric both came in this house," Scheibe said.

With this description it may not be hard to believe that no expense was spared to build this home for the Pattison's and their kids.

"The house itself was $150,000 that was in 1888 that today would be $2.6 million," Sheibe said.

Some pieces in the home are original family pieces, like this grandfather clock that's on loan to what's now the Fairlawn Museum.

But other pieces of the first floor are very close to their original design thanks to a $1.6 million restoration project in the late 1990s.

"The history of this house is unique, it's not just a big Victorian mansion, this home was also the home to a lot of children," Scheibe said.

When Martin passed away in 1918, Grace had a new home built for her in California.

She left this mansion to the Superior Children's Home and refuge association as a place to take care of kids both with and without parents.

"This provided something special to this community for an extended period of time," Sheibe said.

Over 42 years, more than 2000 children called this mansion home. In the 60's the Douglas County Historical Society took over and now Superior Public Museums.

If you decide to take a tour, you can see how little by little, restoration of the home is still going on today.

"We need to preserve and protect our history," Sheibe said.