The Prairie School house was built in 1904 for Abram and Alberta Bowman.

The house has a Prairie School design, popular at the time due to Frank Lloyd Wright's influence; its distinctive Prairie School elements include a horizontal emphasis and a low roof with wide eaves.

Jennie Bowman had the house converted to a vacation home for working women upon her death in 1934.

The house remained a vacation home until 1977, when the Dells Country Historical Society converted it to a historic house museum.

[2] The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 3, 1986.