Welcome to the historic Rosewood-Tippleton House! Built in 1890 by Henry Rosewood, this Queen Anne-style mansion passed through many hands over the past 130 years and has existed as a private residence, boarding house, subdivided apartments, and at one point, even a nightclub.
Starting in the 1980s, the first floor was meticulously restored to its original state by Ms. Margaret Tippleton, who then opened it to locals and school groups for historical tours. That’s when I first came here, in fourth grade, and wrote in the guestbook that I “wanted this to be my house.”
Apparently Margaret decided to take my silly wish to heart, because a few months ago I received notice that she had passed away, and the mansion, grounds, and entire contents of the estate were bequeathed to me. The house had stopped hosting tours in 2004 and was left largely abandoned until now. Now, I was working in a cafe, dropping out of coding school, basically minding my own business; the last thing I needed was a massive abandoned property in need of tons of repairs and maintenance–not to mention a huge tax burden–but on the other hand, how could I turn down my dream house?
After I got over the initial shock of being gifted a mansion by a dead stranger, I started dreaming of bringing the house back to its glory days and opening it up once again to tours, weddings, photoshoots, maybe opening a bar or cafe, even turning it into a B and B. But as I started the massive task of cleaning up, repairing, and modernizing, it quickly became clear that the house might have… ideas of its own.
What do I mean? Well, I’m not saying it’s haunted–I mean yeah, it’s definitely haunted. But it’s more than that. It’s almost like the house itself has collected the memories and dreams of all the people who lived and worked here. I know that sounds pretty weird, but there’s things here that shouldn’t exist after all this time, and it’s all piled in layers on the walls, stuffed in the books in the library, and hidden behind paintings and photos. When you start to peel back the layers, you keep finding more and more. And it feels like all these stories are just waiting to be told.
So I’ve decided to follow through with my plan of re-opening the house to the public, but as it is now. I figured it might be interesting for you to see how its former residents lived, and try to figure out who they were–or who they THOUGHT they were, and sometimes who other people thought they were too. Maybe you can help add to the story by finding new details and making connections on your own. (At least, you can certainly help add to my, uh, operating budget. Did I mention the enormous tax burden? Don’t forget to stop by the gift stand!)
I invite you to touch, explore, dig, find, listen, and play. Please be careful, as many of the things you will find here are very old. You can feel free to investigate anything you can reach. If you ever need help, our awesome guest relations staff knows the house inside and out, and would be happy to assist you on your quests. You can also find my own notes in my room in the attic (3rd floor).
So, see for yourself. Look inside the house and all its contents. You may find something inside yourself too.
-Ani
Analisa Fuentes
Owner-Proprietor, The Rosewood-Tippleton House
Czop-Dreamhouse-Tech-Proposal.pdf
