Old House "Center of the Universe?"

My wife and I happened to drive through Magnolia yesterday, 8/13/07, and noticed a curious, old, mostly well maintained property that had a sign reading "Magnolia, the Center of the Universe." Since it was obviously being maintained (except for a few broken windows) and repaired, we are curious to learn if there is any available information on what the history is of this rather oddly shaped set of buildings. There is a small sign on the front door saying that it is on the National Historical Register, and it appeared that someone might be living in the house. But the gates were all padlocked so it didn't seem welcome to jump the low fence to knock on the door and ask... There were some signs that it was from at least as far back as the 1800's given the two old open wells close to the main building, an old fashioned lightening rod (with glass bowl) on the roof, and the grounds are clearly being maintained with gardening, recent lawn cutting, and the like.
Any information would be welcome. We're not looking to buy or anything like that. Just curious what the history is. It must be expensive to maintain it and someone has done a lot of work, so we're wondering what it is about.

Thanks.

I actually live accross the street from that house and down the ways a little bit I'm very curious aswell I've lived there for 2 years now and I've always wondered what the deal is with that crazy looking victorian mansion lemme know!:)