The Hallstrom House was built by Axel Hallstrom for his wife Emilia. After immigrating from Sweden to Minneapolis and making money with the railroad his wife Emily fell ill with tuberculosis. The doctor recommended a warm climate so the family headed to Florida in 1904. Emily died a few years later in 1908 when they began construction on the house Axel designed on a 40 acre pineapple plantation. Axel was left a single parent with a four year old daughter named Ruth. Axel went on to be a successful pineapple and citrus farmer. He made a fortune when he was the president of the St. Lucie bank. He loved to take Ruth on trips to Europe and he filled his home with treasures they found making his home the envy of everyone in Indian River County. The house was completed in 1918 and both Axel and Ruth lived in it until their deaths. In later years Ruth cared for her father and an aunt and never married. When she passed away in 1999 she left the house to the Indian River Historical Society where she was a charter member.

An interesting fact about this house is that it may be the only Florida house to have a basement. The house was built on the Atlantic Ridge which is a hill which allowed for a basement to be dug underneath the house. The bricks that cover the exterior of the house are from Georgia. Other features of the house are a wide front porch with ceramic pineapples which Axel grew on his property. Upstairs is a widows peak overlooking Dixie Hwy which for many years was the only road in town. Inside the home are five paintings of Florida scenes done by Alfred Hair of the Florida Highwaymen.

Today you can pay the Hallstrom House a visit and see how wealthy Floridians lived at the turn of the century. The house is open weekdays 1 to 4 and on the last Saturday of the month. Admission is a suggested donation of $5.