March 23 & April 13, 2024 • www. mcrecord. com • Morrison County Record • Spring Home & Garden Page 3
Meadow View Manor: A historic treasure in Little Falls
SHEILA MCCOY MORRISON COUNTY RECORD
In 2020, Adam and Katelyn Mueller of Little Falls fell in love with Meadow View Manor. Shortly afterward, the historic home and grounds were theirs.
Today, Meadow View Manor is a favorite among many guests to rent for overnight stays and other special occasions, including theatric murder mysteries.
“ I had no intention of running an Airbnb or owning anything like this,” she said.
Mueller said it began when their neighbor, Scott Gall, son of Diane Gall, asked if they would be interested in purchasing Meadow View Manor.
Looking back, Mueller said at first she or Adam had no intentions of buying Meadow View. What would they do with it? They were perfectly happy with their own home next doors.
Out of courtesy, the Muellers decided to tour Meadow View. While they had seen the exterior of the manor, Mueller said she or Adam had never been inside. At the time, the exterior was in need of a paint job and because of what the outside looked like, they never anticipated the interior would be in top shape.
“ When we went to look, I was like,‘ This is pointless. I’ m not even interested,’ but then, once we walked in the house, I was just amazed,” she said.“ I can remember the feeling I had when I first walked in the door and saw the kitchen and was in awe. It’ s such a beautiful kitchen.”
Mueller said the more they toured the manor, the more she fell in love with it, from the floor layouts and wall colors to the original fire place, carriage seat, antique furniture and decorations.
“ Diane had such beautiful furniture,
like it was all the right style. It just looked like it was meant to be there. She was just amazing and did such a good job,” Mueller said.
Remembering her own feeling when she first walked through the home, Mueller said she never wanted to forget it. She also wanted other people to have that opportunity, as well.
Mueller said after seeing the manor, Adam asked her for her thoughts. She told him not only that she wanted them to buy it, but also that its beauty and historic connection to the community needed to be shared. It was the beginning to their adventure into being Airbnb hosts.
A lot of the furniture and decorations are from what Diane Gall picked out for the manor several years ago. Wanting to preserve the interior, Mueller said she opted to keep the wall colors and the decorative theme the same. New paint was added to the exterior, which brought the manor back to life, Mueller said.
The heavy remodeling at the manor in the years before the Muellers purchased it was done by Scott Gall and his mom, Diane.
Diane said she and Scott purchased Meadow View Manor in 2007. Looking for some land close to town and Diane always having enjoyed history, the manor was a perfect investment- even if it needed a lot of work.
While the home had been remodeled by the previous owners, the Galls decided to restore the home to its former glory. A lot of paneling on the walls and the ceilings, as was modern in a previous era, were removed and replaced with sheetrock.
“ The floors in the formal dining room, the back foyer and the back parlor are the original floors, so we left those,” she said.
SHEILA MCCOY / MORRISON COUNTY RECORD
Built in 1887, the Meadow View Manor in Little Falls was once the home of pioneer Milton M. Williams, who also donated the land to the city where the Pine Grove Zoo is today.
“ We had to tear out all the old flooring in the fireplace room and put it in oak flooring that we stained and varnished to match.”
Diane said she and Scott also installed the same kind of flooring in the kitchen and throughout the hallway.
When the Galls purchased the home in 2007, besides the brown paneling, the kitchen also featured brown cupboards. They decided to build something different.
Other remodeling that was completed, Diane said, included insulating the attic, opening up some spaces, and replacing most of the windows.
Although the old windows couldn’ t be replaced, Diane said she saved the glass
and used it in the cupboard doors in the kitchen.
All the walls were also re-insulated before they were sheetrocked, she said.
As part of the remodeling, the Galls painted and restored the porches and the carriage drive. The passenger would summon the carriage and wait in the carriage seat, a seated area in a small alcove inside the manor, where he or she could see when the carriage arrived.
A carriage drive is the area where, back in the day, the driver of the horse and carriage would stop to pick up its passengers, Mueller said.
Meadow View Manor / See page 11