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A little girlís dream comes true
Carlson House among the living again

By MaryHelen Swanson
As a young girl, Carmen Anderson, while visiting her grandparents in Rush City, would walk up the street several blocks from their home to see the big white house on the hill, known then and now as the Carlson House, and dream about who got to sleep in the room with the turret.
Today, sheís the one sleeping there.
The love of big, old houses might have come from visits to an auntís home in Harris, where the curved stairwayís banister was amusement for her brother and her.
The stairway was something like that in Gone With the Wind, she said, and we loved sliding down it, although it was frowned upon by elders in the family.
In the Carlson House, now owned by Anderson, there are no such banisters for sliding, but lots of rooms in unique shapes and design ... and a turret.
Anderson said she kept her eye on the house over the years. The first time it came on the market it was too expensive, she said.
But a second time things looked brighter. In the fall of 2001, it was hers.
The home had received considerable damage from the June 18 hail storm that year, and some 25 windows were broken. It needed work.
One of the first things she did, however, was join the North Chisago County Historical Society to find out more about the house.
The stories about the old house, she said, are plenty and itís interesting to learn about the people who lived or worked in the home.
Many ìneatî things came with the house, she said, some wonderful furniture and built-in buffets, silver dishes, etc. Anderson was thrilled that the original blueprints were there too and in amazingly good condition. A former owner, the Beverly Corporation, had had copies made and framed. They hang in the first floor bedroom that is now open for guests as part of Andersonís new enterprise, The Carlson House Bed & Breakfast.
Looking at the original blueprints, Anderson is amazed at the quality and detail that was done by hand, not just in the drafting of the plans, but also in the construction of the home.
The architect was A.F. Gauger of St. Paul.
To bring new life back to the old home, Anderson has been redoing the inside with paint, some wallpaper, replacing old radiators, etc.
In the case of the bedroom furniture, she bought replicas, because ìback thenî there were no queen-size beds and todayís travelers like queen size beds.
Itís been work, she admits, but sheís had help from family and friends, including her two sons. One of the things the boys did, with some of their friends, was tear down an old gazebo on the grounds.
One major repair that needed to be redone was the roof, although Anderson said it was hard to find a roofer that would do the job.
She said several contractors drove up, took a look at the three-story home and drove away. She finally hired Costello Roofing from Mora who had no problem working way up in the air. The roofing was just completed in January.
The badly weathered cupola on the turret was restored in Harris and now gleams brightly from the top of the house.
Future plans include repainting the exterior, which will take a lot of scraping and preparation work, and landscaping.
Anderson wants to replace the gazebo and put a picnic shelter down by the creek.
In addition, she hopes to reconstruct the portion of bridge that went from the front of the Carlson House to the highway.
Years ago this connected to a bridge that ran over the creek to the Grant House Hotel.
As the story goes, somewhere on the hill overlooking the creek was a little arbor with two benches and a roof. The spot was popular with young couples on moonlit nights and became known as Loverís Lane.
Anderson not only wants to restore the bridge, but the name.
In February, on Valentineís Day, the Carlson House Bed & Breakfast had itís first visitors - a couple from White Bear Lake.
Anderson has two rooms available now, and plans to prepare two more.
Rooms can be reserved for one night or a week. The rooms, decorated in period furnishings, also have private baths, air conditioning, cable TV, phone access, a refrigerator and microwave. And guests have access to all of the common rooms and the large front porch.
Breakfast is served in the formal dining room. Or, Anderson added, if the visitors are in a hurry, she can pack them a lunch to take along. Other meals can be catered by area businesses.
The newly renovated Carlson House is also available for family reunions, holiday parties, anniversaries, graduations, even business meetings. Anderson said a Hinckley artist has reserved the house for a wine tasting and art show in August and the North Chisago County Historical Society will host its tea there this year.
Like the Grant House across the creek, the restoration is being done in accordance with historic registry requirements and without grants.
Anderson said more than once in the past the house of her childhood dreams almost died, but she said the Carlson House is alive and well, and ready to go on for many more years.
Anderson and her sons live in the house, and a third-floor 1,800 sq. ft. apartment is rented to another family.
For information, call (320) 358-0797, (651) 263-6659, or carlsonhouse@email.com. Anderson is a member of the Minnesota Bed & Breakfast Guild.

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