? lightning rod?

It's my day off & how disappointing that it's dark, dreary, & raining off & on! I wanted to get some yardwork done, but (YEA) will have to put it off until the weekend. I drive past this house very often, & it has 2 of these decorative rods up on the 2 front points of the roof. The house dates from the early 1900's, & I always notice these sticking up because they're so ornate! I'm not sure if they're purely for decoration, or if they were lightning rods from the "old days" when it was built. Either way, they're eye-catching!