Massachusett’s most baffling house is worth a weekend roadtrip

Elis Stenman’s Newspaper House Experiment in Rockport

Elis Stenman didn’t just make paper clip machines in 1920s Cambridge. He built a house from them.

Well, not from the machines—from newspapers. This Swedish engineer took his factory skills home when he bought land in Rockport in 1922.

First, he rolled papers into rods. Next, he glued 215 layers together for walls.

Soon, he added furniture made from news about Lindbergh’s flight and Hoover’s campaign. The house got so famous that Stenman moved next door and charged folks a dime to peek inside.

His odd creation still stands today, nearly a century later. The Paper House in Rockport shows what happens when industrial minds think outside the box.

From Swedish Shores to American Innovation

Elis Stenman left Sweden in the late 1800s with big dreams.

Born in 1873 with a knack for mechanics, he headed to America where factories were creating jobs for engineers.

The young Swede moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, a busy center of manufacturing. With his hands-on skills, Stenman quickly found work in America’s growing factory scene.

Paper Clips Paid the Bills

Stenman made his living in the wire-bending business in the early 1900s.

He became an expert at designing machines that turned simple wire into thousands of paper clips per hour.

He focused on the three-wheel system that bent steel wire into the classic Gem clip shape we still use today.

His machines amazed factory owners by making hundreds of clips every minute.

America’s Manufacturing Boom Created New Possibilities

Paper clips seem basic now, but in the 1920s, they showed off cutting-edge mass production.

Stenman spent his days fixing tough engineering problems, measuring parts exactly, and creating machines that could do the same task over and over perfectly.

This factory mindset changed how he looked at materials and what they could become outside of work.

A Coastal Getaway Sparked an Unusual Idea

Stenman and his wife Esther bought land in Rockport’s Pigeon Cove area in 1922. They wanted a summer home away from Cambridge’s noise, somewhere with fresh ocean air.

The empty lot gave them a chance to build something new, but Stenman wasn’t thinking about normal houses.

His engineer’s brain saw the land as a place to try something completely different.

He Built a House Made of Newspapers

The summer home project quickly grew into a full-on engineering test.

Stenman used skills from his paper clip work and tried them in home building. He made special tools to roll newspapers into strong rods sturdy enough for walls.

His background in factory work helped him turn flimsy paper into solid building materials through clever methods.

Newspapers Became Walls, Floors, and Furniture

About 100,000 newspapers went into the odd house. Stenman pressed 215 layers of newspaper together with homemade glue he cooked from flour, water, and apple peels.

He covered everything with boat varnish to guard against Rockport’s harsh weather. The walls ended up 1-inch thick and surprisingly strong, while the paper rods kept the house warm.

Every Piece of Furniture Told a Story

The furniture inside matched the newspaper theme with a clever twist. Stenman built a desk covered with newspapers about Charles Lindbergh’s flight across the Atlantic.

He made a grandfather clock decorated with papers from all 48 state capitals (before Alaska and Hawaii joined). Each piece worked well while saving bits of history, turning daily news into lasting household items.

Herbert Hoover’s Campaign Found a Home in the Living Room

A radio cabinet in the living room showed off newspapers covering Herbert Hoover’s 1928 run for president. Stenman picked articles about big events and saved them in his handmade furniture.

The radio actually worked, letting the family listen to shows while surrounded by old news. This mix of new technology with saved history showed how Stenman thought about both past and future.

Tourists Started Knocking on His Paper Door

By 1930, news about the strange paper house spread across New England. So many curious people showed up that the Stenmans moved to a regular wooden house next door.

They turned their paper creation into a small museum, welcoming visitors to see what an engineer could make with newspapers and glue.

The unusual house became a must-see for travelers in Rockport.

Ten Cents Got You a Tour of Engineering Marvel

Visitors paid just a dime to tour the Paper House in its early days.

Stenman or family members often guided guests themselves, explaining how he used factory methods to build a home.

People couldn’t believe something made from such thin material could feel so solid underfoot. The cheap ticket price meant almost anyone traveling through the area could afford to visit.

The Paper House Outlasted Its Creator

Stenman died in 1942 at 68 years old, but his paper creation kept standing strong.

The house has weathered nearly a century of New England storms, proving the durability of his experimental techniques.

Today, the Paper House remains standing in Rockport, maintained by Stenman’s descendants as a testament to what happens when industrial knowledge jumps from factory floor to home construction.

The paper clip engineer’s summer project became his most lasting legacy.

Visiting The Paper House, Rockport

The Paper House at 52 Pigeon Hill Street in Rockport shows how Swedish engineer Elis Stenman used his paper clip machine expertise to build with newspapers.

You can tour this unique house made from 100,000 newspapers from April through October, 10am-5pm daily.

Admission costs $3 for adults and $1 for kids 6-10, paid through an honor system drop box.

The self-guided tour reveals Stenman’s experimental architecture from the 1920s industrial boom.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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