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CAPPON HOUSE

Dutch immigrant architect Jan R. Kleyn designed this Italianate style house for Holland's first mayor and tannery owner, Isaac Cappon, and his large family. Owned by the Cappons from 1873 until 1980, the house's stately interiors are furnished with one of the country's largest collections of early Grand Rapids furniture in its original setting. The house was comprehensively restored in 2000 - 2004 including the reproduction of original wallpapers, floor coverings and silk upholstery fabric. A Visitor Center, in the Cappon barn, is the starting point for touring both the Cappon and nearby Settlers houses.

SETTLERS HOUSE

Ship's carpenter and Irish Canadian immigrant Thomas Morrissey constructed this tiny cottage for his wife and (ultimately) five children in 1867. The house survived the Holland Fire of 1871, the same day as the fires in Chicago, Illinois and Peshtigo, Wisconsin. Restored by the Holland Museum and opened to the public in 2001, the Settlers House recalls a life of hardships faced by area settlers and illustrates their daily lives from the wallpapers they purchased to the rubbish they threw out the back door. The house is furnished with locally used objects from the Holland area's settlement period of 1845-1880, objects from the Holland Museum's extensive collection.

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User Reviews

Breathtaking house museums I've seen a LOT of house museums in my time. My family frequented any and all of them we could. The level of restoration at these two house museums is extremely high. They have both been recreated with historic accuracy, textiles reproduced by the best repro houses, and the Cappon House is just beautiful. All care has been taken and the attention to historic details is refreshing. No frilly home-town decor, no "interior design makeover", as you see too often in houses that call themselves historic. This is an authentic step back in time to see how the owners lived, and a wonderful study of interior design of the period! It's PERFECT! by Tante Bess on Sat, 09/20/2008 - 23:15