The mansion was built in 1886 and was home to James Francis who lived there for five years until he died, and the house was purchased by Colonel M.E. Billings, a civil war veteran. Billings ran his law office from the Francis House until he died of pneumonia in 1918. After Billing’s death, the house was turned into a private hospital that ran until 1965, when state inspectors shut it down for failure to meet the current health and safety codes. It’s been abandoned ever since.
