The Paper House

Travel 4 Minutes

There is a house in Rockport, Massachusetts built of paper and it has survived since the 20’s! The following interview appeared in the Cape Ann Sun, 1996.

Mr. Elis F. Stenman, a mechanical engineer who designed the machines that make paper clips, began building his Rockport summer home out of paper as a hobby. That was in 1922. The paper was meant to be good insulation.

Now Stenman’s grandniece, Edna Beaudoin runs the Paper House as her mother did for many years. The following interview is from a conversation with Beaudoin.

How do you make a paper house?

Well, let me see. (Elis Stemnan) started out making a house for the summer. The framework to the house is wood-just like any other house-it has a regular wooden floor and wooden roof. The wall material, which was supposed to be insulation really, is pressed paper about an inch thick. It’s just layers and layers of newspaper, glue, and varnish on the outside That keeps it pretty water-proof actually. This was done in 1924 and he lived here in the summertime up until 1930. Actually, I guess he was supposed to cover the outside with clapboards, but he just didn’t. You know, he was curious. He wanted to see what would happen to the paper, and, well, here it is, some 70 years later.

Have you re varnished it?

Oh yes, lots of extra varnish on the Paper House walls. When the house was built, of course, the porch wasn’t here. That was built sometime in the early ’30s. So the porch roof really protects the bottom part of the Paper House walls. The top section up there on the peaks of the roof that has shingles on it. Roofing shingles, so there really isn’t any paper exposed to the weather. Rain blows in, sometimes snow, but it’s held up pretty well considering how old it is. We really don’t varnish the inside of the house because the more you put on, the darker it gets and we really just like to leave it so you can still read the papers.

After the wall material was made, and he was living in it, he made the furniture. The furniture is made out of little paper logs. The little rolls of paper are maybe a half inch thick and they’re all cut to different sizes-cut with a knife. Then they’re glued together or nailed together.

Who was Elis Stenman?

He’s my- I guess you could say he’s a grand uncle. He’s my mother’s uncle. He and Mrs. Stenman lived in Cambridge when they started this and he was an engineer. He designed machinery and we just really don’t know where he got the idea to build a house out of paper. He was just that sort of a guy. He was curious – an amateur inventor. He started dabbling with trying to make a steam iron and that was back in the ’20s. I don’t believe that he ever patented it, but he was always doing little experimental things. When he was making the house here, he just mixed up his own glue to put the paper together. It was basically flour and water, you know, but he would add little sticky substances like apple peels. But it real1y has lasted. The furniture is usable-it’s quite heavy. Basically the furniture is all paper except for the piano which he covered.

He covered the piano with paper?

Yes, it’s a real piano and he just put the paper outside. And then there’s the mantle on the fireplace. The fireplace actually is usable because it’s really a brick fireplace.

There’s a clock in there. It’s actually very interesting. It’s a grandfather clock and there’s a paper from each one of the 48 states in it, so there are all the state capitols and you can read them all the way down the front of the clock. It was made in the ’30s, so there’s no Alaska and no Hawaii.

Do you know when the electricity was put in?

The house was built with electricity. Yup, electricity, and they even had running water in it when they lived here. It was summer water; the pipe came right up over the ground, but there was water in there. But there were no bathrooms. They were over there in the woods-over yonder. And, no, the outhouse wasn’t paper.

What’s the lineage? How did the house get passed down to you?

Well it was the Stenman’s who actually raised my mother. Her parents dies when she was very young and they were her parents basically. I never knew him- he dies when I was just a baby, but Mrs. Stenman -and it was she who made all the little drapery things in there, which are also made of paper-was really like my grandmother. So, it’s really like the family heirloom.

When did the house get opened up as a museum?

Probably in the ’30s. When they were living in here in the summertime, people used to come up to the house. You know, word got around. This is a small town. Word got around that there was this man making a house of paper. People were curious as early as the late ’20s. But I don’t think they started to charge admission until after Mrs. Stenman died in 1942. I suppose that’s when it really became a museum. It used to be 10 cents to get in.

How much is it now?
 
A dollar and a half. Inflation. lt is $1.50 for adults and a dollar for children six to 14.
 
Do you feel a great responsibility to keep it intact?
 
Yeah, I do. I feel responsible for it, but I don’t worry about it. It’s been here since 1924, so I guess that if a storm was going to blow it over, then so be it. Here it sits and you can’t spend your life worrying that something is going to happen to it. You just take care of it and that’s it.
 
What’s the most commonly asked question about the Paper House?
 
I think probably the most common question is just, “why?”
 
Do you know the answer?
 
No. I don’t really know the answer. I don’t really know why unless he was just really thrifty or something. Newspapers were pretty inexpensive; everybody gave him their papers.

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Published by pat frederick

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43 thoughts on “The Paper House”

  1. Ground Report:

    We attended a 25th anniversary “Exceptional Families Picnic” put on by my son’s (& his sister & one brother) former Special Needs Pediatrician & Josiah was one of her patients at the very beginning of her practice, even before we lived down state. We were incredibly blessed to have her involvement in our family’s life for about 2 decades.

    It was wonderful to see her & she was incredibly enthusiastic to see the 3 of our 4 kids & 1 of 3 spouses that made the picnic, along w/ my 2 granddaughters.

    She said the covid “pandemic” was a real blessing to her young adult patients. Apparently many of these special needs kids were having a very hard time finding employment. When the “pandemic” came along & employers were hard up to find employees they started taking on some of these special needs “kids” & discovered that they have great attitudes & great work ethics. I told her about how Josiah’s boss had also raved about him w/ these characteristics in conversation at J’s wedding reception. Now she has about 40 “kids” that are employed compared to almost none before the scamdemic.

    As she was starting to tell me this she says “covid” & I say “lies” & she says “partially true”. She said “covid was real” & I say “yes, but it was a bioweapon & the US government was involved in creating it” & she says “yes” to each of those points… 🙂

    We got interrupted in our conversation several times by other families coming to speak with her but when they moved on she looks at my youngest granddaughter, 4 months old now, & whispers to me “they aren’t getting her vaccinated are they?” & I’m like “not a chance!”

    Boy I wish I could find someone w/ her perspective to be a primary care doc now that we have “new” insurance.

    In case anyone is near Metro Detroit (or willing to travel there) & in need of a good pediatrician w/ a multidisciplinary approach to caring for the (potentially complex) needs of special needs kids & families, I cannot recommend her highly enough! She is a strong Christian but has many Muslims, being based in Dearborn–just down the road from the Lions’ practice field–as both patients & colleagues. She provided medical, educational, therapeutic, medication, social, tutoring, training, & advocacy support for us in numerous ways over the years. She also took written notes on Each Issue of concern that we would raise & also provide Written Instructions for follow through point by point at the end of Every Appointment, quite invaluable for the overwhelmed special needs parent (something sorely lacking for most specialties in my experience)…

    https://www.beaumont.org/services/childrens/childhood-development-disorders/center-for-exceptional-families

    Dr. Susan Lynn Youngs, MDI
    Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Pediatrics

    Beaumont Center For Exceptional Families
    18501 Rotunda Dr Ste 200, Dearborn, MI, 48124

    313-996-1960

    Exceptional medicine
    As stated by Dr. Susan Youngs, medical director of CEF, “ We pride ourselves on coordinating care for children with special needs – guiding families through the overwhelming number of specialists, programs, agencies and school issues that they face. In addition, we offer multidisciplinary medical clinics for children requiring spasticity management, autism diagnostics and follow-up, and management of chronic health conditions.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Sorry about that, Val! Got you out of the bin! Pat is at her Mom’s for the week-end. Wow! She sounds like a real jewel among pediatricians! It was a wonderful thing for you and your family to have found her so long ago. We could sure use a lot more like her these days!

      Liked by 2 people

        1. I can understand why – it is particularly gratifying for people in her position to see one of her early patients thriving and doing well.

          Liked by 2 people

          1. Yes. He was also her Only Transplant patient (she said to have Just One Transplant patient was A Lot for Any physician) & described him as “the most complex patient” in her practice. It’s been a few years since we saw her for medical care so that assessment could have been revised now.

            I’ve written A Lot about Josiah’s special needs stuff on my main blog if any of that might be of interest to anyone…

            SpecialConnections.wordpress.com

            I get that it’s pretty much an unusual niche to inhabit, but some of what’s there Might be a blessing to someone facing tough medical, parenting, or behavioral stuff…

            Liked by 2 people

            1. If someone is going to have a blog, it makes sense that it would be about something they are intimately familiar with. I’m familiar with your blog and wouldn’t hesitate to pass it on to someone in a similar situation who I thought could benefit. If I were to start my own blog, it would be one about re-purposing normal, every-day items since I’m an inveterate tinkerer on that score. I just haven’t decided yet that I’m ready to take on the commitment of my own blog and being “responsible” for it. I post what and when because I want to – I don’t want to “have to.” That would turn it into a job, so-to-speak, and I want nothing to do with that any more. It is the freedom to do what I want, when I want, that I value most these days, absent the exigencies of everyday life.

              Liked by 2 people

              1. ” I post what and when because I want to – I don’t want to “have to.” ”

                That is Exactly how I’ve approached blogging. It was begun as an outlet since I really had no where else to dump some of that heavy load of special needs parenting baggage. It is eclectic & erratic, which is perhaps why it doesn’t get a lot of attention (but I’m not looking for attention 🙂 ). I’m just glad for where the process has lead over the years & to have found the CTH & beyond family to interface with! ❤

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  3. Very interesting, Pat! That curiosity is what often drives me sometimes, too – that “what if” idea….I like trying new things as long as it’s MY idea to try it! LOL

    Liked by 1 person

  4. So I attempted to post that “ground report” again & it said it was a duplicate comment but when I reload the page I don’t see it.

    Also it’s making me sign in Every Time to comment still, fyi.

    Hope you are doing well & had a great Labor Day ❤

    Liked by 2 people

    1. That sign-in thing is a problem Pat has been unable to resolve. I know it happens at M’s now and then but, personally, I think it happens more frequently on the un-paid accounts.

      Liked by 2 people

        1. Thanks – it helps when people speak up and it is always appreciated. You can’t fix a problem if you don’t know it exists! She has gone the rounds with WP several times and (again, IMO, since there is no $$$ involved), they never came up with a reason, always blaming the person trying to comment.

          Liked by 2 people

            1. All kinds of weird things are happening on the interwebs, Val, in all kinds of ways…for about a week or so, my internet access has been overly wonky every morning around the same time, then again sometimes in the afternoon – may be interference from people who live around me who connect to the same tower but why did it only start recently? WTH knows!!! I think people all over the country are experiencing intermittent issues.

              Liked by 1 person

              1. Hmmm…I am way behind on reading for the past week & a half having been out of town for the holiday & beyond w/ limited access Up North so I haven’t really heard about these issues much.

                Yesterday at home I had many hours where Gab was virtually non-functional for me & most gabs wouldn’t go through. Today it seems back to its usual functioning. 🙂

                I wouldn’t be surprised that the ILLegitimate powers that be are doing crazy stuff to interfere with communications even more than they’ve done for years now, especially for MAGA patriots. They’ve gotta be feeling the swell of rage building up in those of us who Know about the lies, debauchery, & tyranny! 😡

                Liked by 2 people

  5. Good news from NY! M and Mr. M are scheduled for a flight out tonight at 5:30 and are headed home. The new parents have settled in at home, all is under control, and she is exhausted after so many nights with only 4-5 hours of sleep. She sent a pic….

    Liked by 2 people

        1. Hi Filly!
          she thinks she was at the wedding…LOL…
          I told her now that she’s living back in PA–she was in Florida for the past 30 yrs–we’ll meet at mom’s more often and I’ll bring my wedding album.

          Liked by 1 person

  6. hi all!
    we’re finally home!
    everything went wacky this weekend!
    my cousins were supposed to come Saturday, but only one came. My aunt had an accident this past week and cracked 4 ribs in a slip and fall at home. my cousins came in to tend to her and make sure she was okay, but they didn’t want to leave her alone on Saturday.
    the oldest sister (and hubby) lives with their mother so they all told her to come and visit with us this time and we will all try to get together another time.
    we had a wonderful time and had way too much food!
    my son and his dog came to visit my mom for the first time and she was thrilled to meet Abby–and Abby was well behaved and sat by Mom and enjoyed getting the attention and petting.
    she told my son Abby was welcome at any time.

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      1. we hope when my aunt gets better, we can all get together. it’s tough because one lives in VT, one in DE and one in NC. the other two live in PA, so there’s hope.

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      1. Don’t bother – I watched it after I posted it – just golf-ball size hail breaking the windshield and rain. We actually got some nice, steady rain today – still cool, I had to turn the heat on earlier. It only got into the 60’s again. I had a baby ladderback WP get caught on the patio – I had propped the door open in case GT wanted to come in out of the rain – and he was behind one of the match-stick blinds. I managed to corral him – he bit my hand continuously but it didn’t hurt at all, he was so small. As soon as I opened my hand, he flew off and I closed the door. The feeder is hanging right next to the door at the top and I could easily see one come thru just trying to escape a bigger one over the feeder. So I’ll only do that when I feed GT in the mornings. IDR when it happened – did you see that she actually came inside a few feet?

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