Up close and personal with the Honolulu House Museum in Marshall—a most unusual home.
Honolulu House Museum
We recently experienced a history-packed tour of the Honolulu House Museum in Marshall. You’ll find this majestic home just north of the fountain circle at 107 N. Kalamazoo Ave. You can view the outside while strolling about downtown Marshall or on the Marshall Heritage trolley tours. However, to truly understand and appreciate this historic building, you’ll want to pop inside.
Self-guided tours are available anytime during open hours, but your best bet is to arrange a guided tour with the Marshall Historical Society. This is the best way to experience this most unusual home.
A Most Unusual Home
The Honolulu House was built in 1860 by Judge Abner Pratt for his wife, Eliza. Judge Pratt served as a U.S. consul to Hawaii in 1857. As consul, Judge Pratt was in charge of taxing merchant ships that arrived in the harbors of the islands. Evidently, the Judge may have helped himself to a large portion of that tax money, which he then used to build the Honolulu House upon his return to Michigan. Unfortunately, neither of the Pratts was able to enjoy their new house for long, as Mrs. Pratt died in 1861 and Judge Pratt died in 1863.
Built for the Tropical Weather in Michigan?
The house has features you’d find in a tropical setting, with lofty 15-foot ceilings, 10-foot doorways, and windows that open from the floor to promote air circulation throughout the house. While the central spiral staircase looks amazing, it leads only to an observation deck. Its primary function is air circulation. Given that Michigan is far from tropical, this design made for an absolutely freezing home during the winter. To combat the cold, the house once had 12 fireplaces and 4 chimneys.
A Victorian Masterpiece
The interior theme of the Honolulu House dates to the 1880s. The walls are adorned with beautifully detailed murals. According to our guide, Alena Guenther (Museum Director), the wall paintings were commissioned by the home’s second owner, Mayor Martin V. “Cap” Wagner. He contracted F.A. Grace, an artist from Maine, who spent a year painting the house in a 3D-like style known as Trompe-l’œil (trick the eye). There are hundreds of colors and 14-karat gold leaf throughout the house. For instance, the parlor ceiling has over 120 different colors.
Fascinating Features and Historical Tidbits
There are so many fascinating features wherever you cast your eyes as you walk through the Honolulu House. For example, the parquet floors near the entrance are original and sourced from Michigan woods. There is a massive 200-piece pink china set, which was gifted by the Dutch government to Charles Gorham.
Gorham moved to Marshall in 1836. He was a founder of the Republican Party and a staunch abolitionist. When a group of unsavory folks from Kentucky planned to capture a Black family and send them back South into slavery, Gorham led 200 Marshall residents to stop them. Gorham received the china set while serving as an ambassador to the Netherlands.
We learned a trick to see if a mirror is a true antique. Alena shone a light on one of the mirrors inside the Honolulu House, and it began to sparkle. Older mirrors were made with mercury and silver or tin. As they age, the mercury separates from the metal, leaving the sparkling artifacts. Cool, right?
Did you know that Marshall was affectionately known as the “Chicken Pot Pie Stop”? It’s true! We learned this fun fact from Alena, who shared that Marshall was a major stop on the Michigan Central Railroad. During those stops, they would swap train engines. Travelers had just enough time to enjoy a chicken pot pie during the train engine changeover.
More Details and Photos
There are way too many details to cram into our story. Plus, the best way to experience them is in person. Make a visit to the Honolulu House Museum in Marshall a must-do, and marvel at the history that lives on today.
There are more photos from our adventure at the Honolulu House Museum in our gallery. Many thanks to Alena and Amy Peterson (Choose Marshall) for spending their time with us.
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