Rock IN the house: The Wisconsin family home that became a tourist attraction after a two-storey-high boulder crashed into it – and was never removed
- In Spring 1995, the house at 440 North Shore Drive in Fountain City, Wisconsin, was just a typical family home
- On April 24, 1995, a 55-ton boulder fell from the bluff above the house and tore open its back wall
- Husband and wife owners Maxine and Dwight Anderson were inside at the time – but escaped unscathed
In Spring 1995, the house at 440 North Shore Drive in Fountain City, Wisconsin, was just a typical family home.
By the end of summer, a freak geological mishap had turned it into a tourist attraction called Rock in the House – and it’s still attracting curious travellers today.
They come from all across the USA and the wider world to see the two-storey-high boulder that tore the back of the house in two – and that has never been moved.
This Wisconsin house attracts visitors from all over, keen to see the two-storey-high boulder lodged at the rear
The 55-ton boulder was originally part of a bluff 500ft above the house, but became dislodged on April 24, 1995.
It careened down the hillside and smashed into the rear wall of the house, coming to a stop halfway into the main bedroom.
An eyewitness told local newspapers that he heard a ‘train-like roar’ before the boulder hit the house.
The 55-ton boulder was originally part of a bluff 500ft above the house, but became dislodged on April 24, 1995
An eyewitness told local newspapers that he heard a ‘train-like roar’ before the boulder hit the house. Husband and wife owners Maxine and Dwight Anderson were inside the house at the time – Maxine was in the bedroom itself – but both were able to escape the carnage unscathed
Husband and wife owners Maxine and Dwight Anderson were inside the house at the time – Maxine was in the bedroom itself – but both were able to escape the carnage unscathed.
However, the experience shook the couple so badly that they moved out of the house – which they’d only just finished renovating – immediately, and put it up for sale a month later.
Another local couple, John and Frances Burt purchased the house, with the boulder still in place.
The Andersons put their abode up for sale, with the new owners deciding to open it as a tourist attraction called Rock in the House
However, instead of removing the giant rock, they decided to open the property up as a tourist site.
In return for depositing a donation in a jar, visitors were originally allowed to enter the house, where they could read a series of handwritten notes left by the current owners that described what had taken place in the property on the day of the accident.
However, the site was closed during the pandemic and has recently been shut down due to an act of vandalism.
Pictured is one of the information stations that the current owners put in the house to tell tourists what happened at the property. Visitors cannot go inside at the moment but they can view the house from outside
Tourists are still welcome to view the house from the outside, however.
One TripAdvisor reviewer recently wrote: ‘The rock is truly something to see in person.’
Another commented: ‘Stop and see this unforgettable story.’
With thanks to Lorie Shaull for permission to use her pictures of Rock in the House.
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