Parsonages were the working houses of the priests, where they lived with their families. The parsonage was a farm, the income from which was a part of the priest's salary. It also played an important role as a centre of cultural life in the region, from where many new ideas and influences spread to the surrounding area. The kitchen gardens of the parsonages were often at the forefront of introducing new horticultural phenomena.

The writer Juhani Aho wrote his short stories in this parsonage, as his father Theodor Brofeldt was the vicar of Iisalmi, who lived in this building with his family. The parsonage was therefore brought to Seurasaari from Iisalmi, in northern Savo.

Today, the parsonage houses a museum shop and meeting rooms for rent. In the rectory garden you can admire traditional plants.