Last April 24, a 55-ton boulder broke loose from a Mississippi River bluff and rolled down smack dab into the middle of a house located on  the outskirts of the small town of Fountain City, Wis.

The owners decided to sell the destroyed home rather than fix it up, John Burt, owner of some local apartments, made an offer to buy it. He and his wife Frances decided to turn it into a tourist attraction.

So they put up a sign advertising their "Rock In The House" on the outskirts of town and began charging visitors to see it.

Soon they found themselves in the middle of a controversy almost as big as their boulder. Mainly, city officials were concerned about charging visitors to look at their house, which is zoned residential, not commercial.

After weeks of debate -- during which time the Burts had to take their sign down and ask only for donations -- the city council declared the rock "an object of special character". It developed a list of operating conditions for the Burts and their boulder. The house is now open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The Burts sell pictures, postcards and souvenirs.

So far, more than 17,000 visitors from every state in the union and even Russia and Japan visited, thanks to national news coverage the "rock house" has received.