Bunnell House

At the Bunnell House, visitors step back into the 1850s and into the lives of one of Winona’s earliest and most colorful families. Willard Bunnell, a fur trader and trapper with a strong will and a checkered past, headed west after a legal dispute involving silver coins. His wife, Matilda—fluent in French, Dakota, and Ojibwa—soon joined him, reflecting the cultural crossroads of the early Mississippi River frontier. The Bunnell House became a hub of early settlement life, shaped by resilience, resourcefulness, and complex personalities. After Willard and Matilda both died of tuberculosis within a decade, their children moved on, and Willard’s equally-memorable brother, Lafayette Bunnell, took up residence, adding another chapter to the home’s storied history. Come tour their unique steamboat gothic house and learn what life was like as canoes gave way to steamboats.

Historic Bunnell House Tours

$5 Adults / $3 Students

Free for WCHS Members and Children 7 and younger

Self-guided explorations into the world of the Bunnell family are offered on select days during the summer season at the historic Bunnell House in Homer. Be welcomed with an introduction and then explore the three floors of this unique historic home at your own pace.

Built about 1850, the home is made of pine with a limestone foundation. The style is often described as Rural or Steamboat Gothic. It was a private residence until acquired by the Winona County Historical Society in 1954. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The kitchen is on the lower level and is built into the side of the hill. This provides natural insulation, making it cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Upstairs, the main floor of the house was used to greet guests and the spaces served as a parlor, dining room, and office where early mail was circulated. Up the entry hall staircase to the third floor are three small bedrooms.

Just off HWY 61 about 3 mi. south of Winona in Homer, MN

Accessibility: The Bunnell House is not easily handicap accessible. There are steps and uneven grounds.