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The house was built in 1884 by builder Charles
Clark from Pretoria. It was one of the first homes
in Pretoria to be lit
by electricity. The original brass switches were
manufactured by the German company Siemens &
Schuckert.
The house many original
furnishings and includes some of the gifts that
were presented to Kruger.
In the corner where Gezina did her sewing is a
special table that contained her sewing necessities
as well as her original needlework box.
When in residence the President received a
constant flow of visitors in the Reception room with
its double suite of furniture. The room contains many important pieces,
including the table at which Kruger talked
with many famous people such as John X
Merriman,
Cecil John Rhodes, Henry Stanley
and Mark Twain; and a bronze-gilded eagle
gifted by a group of Irish-Americans from
Chicago after the failure of the
Jameson Raid.
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There are two rooms at the western end
of the house. The President retired to the
inner room when he was in need of
meditation, whereas the front room was
mostly used by his secretary. It has one of
the first telephones to be installed in
Pretoria in 1891.
The main bedroom still has the large
wardrobe originally used by the Krugers.
Although little is left of the original
dining room furniture, the room has been
re-furnished in the same way in which is was
in Kruger's day. The adjoining pantry also
has furniture and utensils typical of the
period.
The Lions on the veranda were given to
President Kruger as a birthday gift on 10
October 1896 by
Barney Barnato, the mining magnate.
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