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Cass County North Dakota - The Historic Houston House 26 January 2024 ( news )
Cass County , state North Dakota ( By Press Release office)
Jan 26,2024
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The Houston House , a beautiful bonanza farm home , was built by David H . Houston in 1881 near Hunter , ND . Houston was a Scottish immigrant , farmer , poet , and inventor . Because his first house was destroyed by a powerful wind storm , this house included a storm cellar , 2” by 6” supporting timbers and the largest nails that he could find .
The house was an elegant home with maple floors , cherry and oak wainscoting , a walnut staircase leading to the second floor , high ornamental ceilings and large bay windows . The original cost to build this house was estimated to be $7 , 000 . Houston installed a new type of heating system in the basement , a hot air furnace . The house was heated by means of metal conduits and air registers . It even has a bathroom which was uncommon in any house at this time .
David Houston is best known for his photographic inventions . A major goal of Houston’s was to make a camera that anyone would be able to own . In 1867 , he got his first patent on a camera improvement he had devised . In 1886 , Houston invented a device that totally changed photography . Instead of using bulky plates of film , this invention allowed film to be wound on rolls inside the camera . Houston sold the rights to this patent to George Eastman , another inventor . Houston received $5 , 000 and monthly payments from the sale of roll - film cameras for the rest of his life .
George Eastman started his own camera company and bought 21 camera patents from David Houston . Houston suggested the camera company be named after northern Dakota and called “Nodak . ” Eastman liked the suggestion but wanted a name that did not mean anything . He changed the first letter and called his company “Kodak . ”
Houston married Anni Laurie Pencille on April 26 , 1888 . She was an exceptional musician and was known as “The North Dakota Songstress . ” They had one son , David Jr . , born 1889 . David Houston was caught outdoors in the middle of a blizzard in 1906 while walking home from Hunter . He found shelter but the chill caused significant trauma and he died three months later .
Images and content provided by the Cass County Historical Society and North Dakota State University Archives Library .
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