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Historic House Museums and Public Spaces
We're building an extensive list of historic house museums. If you are the curator or know of an interesting old house museum we want you to include it here for all the old house community to see. Submit a historic house museum to OldHouses.com
We are upgrading our museum database, so for the moment there are two lists on this page, each organized by state. Please pardon the inconvenience as we upgrade.
From Our Listing Database
California
Hearst Castle
San Simeon, California
Hearst Castle is California's premiere House Museum. Originally owned by Publisher, Politician and Movie Producer William Randolph Hearst. Julia Morgan spent 28 years- to design, build, furnish and never finish this country home for Client W.R. Hearst. Professionally guided interpretive tours are available 362 days per year. Call (800) 444-4445 to schedule at least one of five tours...
Web Site: hearstcastle.com/
Colorado
McAllister House Museum
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs' oldest substantial home completed in 1873 for Major Henry McAllister, one of the founding fathers of Colorado Springs.
Web Site: www.mcallisterhouse.org/
Connecticut
Mark Twain House
Hartford, Connecticut
Step back to the Gilded Age during guided tours of the 19-room, Tiffany-decorated mansion where Mark Twain raised his family and worked from 1874 to 1891. During this incredibly productive period, Twain created such classics as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.
Web Site: www.marktwainhouse.org
The Glebe House & The Gertrude Jeckyll Garden
Woodbury, Connecticut
Mid 18th century house, home of John Rutgers Marshall family from 1771-1786; site of the election of first Episcopal bishop, in 1783. Gertrude Jekyll-designed garden only extant garden in North America by England's most influential garden designer of the late 19th early 20th century.
Web Site: www.theglebehouse.org/
Dist. of Col.
Meridian House
Washington, Dist. of Col.
Meridian House, built in 1921, is among the finest examples of French 18th-century urban architecture in the United States. Two stories high, the foyer is dominated by a curving double stairway leading up to the grand reception area. The principal rooms retain their architectural detail as well as many original decorative features. The drawing room, library, and dining room are stately, yet intimate. Walls shelter a formal garden, well-known for its grove of European linden trees that shade a pebbled courtyard, which combines with a rambling side garden to make Meridian House one of Washington’s finest settings for outdoor events.
Web Site: www.meridian.org/
White-Meyer House
Washington, Dist. of Col.
The White-Meyer House, a red brick mansion adjacent to Meridian House, was built in 1911 by Ambassador Henry White and later purchased by Eugene Meyer, the owner of the Washington Post. The large rooms of this splendid building have been renovated and restored to their original glory. The main floor includes a spacious entry hall, sitting room, drawing room, library, and dining room, all of which are interconnected. The large drawing room overlooks the side garden. A majestic, columned terrace, accessible from the library and dining room, has a lovely view of Washington, particularly at night.
Web Site: www.meridian.org/
Tudor Place Historic House and Garden
Washington, Dist. of Col.
Located in Georgetown’s Historic District, this National Historic Landmark is a house museum distinguished for its neoclassical architecture, decorative arts collection, and five-and-a-half acre garden. Built in 1816, it was home to Thomas Peter and his wife, Martha Custis Peter, granddaughter of Martha Washington. It housed six generations of the Peter family over the course of 180 years. Now, open to the public, the historic home is one of our nation’s hidden gems.
Web Site: www.tudorplace.org/
Georgia
The Hills & Dales Estate
LaGrange, Georgia
A beautiful Italian villa designed by Hentz and Reid for textile magnate Fuller E. Callaway Sr. Completed in 1916, the home blends with the formal boxwood gardens planted in the mid-19th century by Sarah Coleman Ferrell.
Web Site: www.hillsanddalesestate.org/
Hay House
Macon, Georgia
One of Georgia’s most distinguished structures, the Johnston-Felton-Hay House in Macon was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974. It was built from 1855 to 1859 in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, a marked contrast to the more restrained Greek Revival architecture of the antebellum period.
Web Site: www.hayhouse.org/
Isaiah Davenport House Museum
Savannah, Georgia
The Isaiah Davenport House is an example of Federal architecture amongst Georgian architecture in downtown Savannah, GA. It was built around 1820 by master builder Isaiah Davenport and shows some of his trade. It also contains an interesting history as a nineteenth century rooming house and twentieth century tenement. The building was almost demolished in 1955 but was saved by a group later to be known as the Historic Savannah Foundation.
Web Site: www.davenporthousemuseum.org/
Pebble Hill Plantation
Thomasville, Georgia
This winter residence of the Hanna family of Cleveland, Ohio houses one of the nation’s most extensive collections of sporting art, bronzes,19th century furniture, porcelain, silver, crystal, glassware,33 Audubon lithographs, etc. The treasures of the Main House are the result of two generations of collecting. Architect Abram Garfield designed the Main House and numerous outbuildings, including a magnificent stable complex. The 3,000-acre estate includes lush grounds and gardens. House guests included many distinguished artists such as Ogden Pleissner and Richard Bishop; Gina Bachauer, international concert pianist; presidents Dwight Eisenhower and Jimmy Carter; ambassadors, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor; 1930s writer, actress and dramatist, Cornelia Otis Skinner. The overall impression one receives from this remarkable plantation is more felt than defined. Integrity, warmth, tradition, and beauty are here in equal measure to be savored by all.
Recently, Margo Bindhardt, Chairman of the Pebble Hill Board of Trustees, received an Award of Stewardship presented by Thomasville Landmarks for the care and preservations of Pebble Hill's buildings and landscape.
The house museum is open to the public.
Web Site: www.pebblehill.com/
Illinois
The Richard H. Driehaus Museum
Chicago, Illinois
A must-see attraction for those interested in American architecture, decorative arts, historic preservation, and the history of Chicago.
Web Site: www.driehausmuseum.org/
Glessner House Museum
Chicago, Illinois
Henry Hobson Richardson's Glessner House was completed in 1887, a year after the architect's untimely death. A radical departure from traditional Victorian architecture, the structure served as an inspiration to the young Frank Lloyd Wright and helped reform domestic architecture.
Web Site: www.glessnerhouse.org
Fabyan Villa Museum and Japanese Garden
Geneva, Illinois
The Fabyan Villa Museum was the home of George and Nelle Fabyan from 1905 - 1939. It was initially their summer home, but shortly after 1907, when they hired Frank Lloyd Wright to enlarge and re-model their home, they decided to make it their permanent residence. Over the next 20 years, their estate grew into a lavish showplace, complete with fountains, swimming pools, gardens, a windmill, private zoo, tennis courts, and more. A visit to the Villa Museum gives visitors an experience of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture, as well as an overview of the unique and fascinating Fabyan story. The Museum contains the Fabyans' collection of Asian artifacts, natural history specimens, Nelle's original Mission-Style bedroom furniture and some surprises!
You will also learn of the Fabyans' contributions to society, country and science, and the generosity they bestowed on residents of the Fox Valley Area.
Their Japanese Garden, first installed c. 1909, is still a tranquil oasis where history melds with nature and theory. This special site affords you the opportunity to simply enjoy a bit of harmony with nature, or to learn principles of Japanese gardening.
The major part of the Fabyan Estate is now the Fabyan Forest Preserve, part of Kane County Forest Preserve District in Illinois. The Villa is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Web Site: www.ppfv.org/fabyan.htm
Mayslake Peabody Estate
Oak Brook, Illinois
This Tudor revival style mansion was built between 1919-1921 by renowned Chicago architect Benjamin Marshall. It served as the retirement home for Francis. S Peabody, a coal baron and active player in national politics.
The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is currently undergoing restoration and open to the public, thus giving our visitors the unique opportunity to witness restoration in progress.
Web Site: www.mayslakepeabody.com/
Farnsworth House
Plano, Illinois
Designed by Mies van der Rohe and built from 1946 to 1951, Farnsworth House is considered a paradigm of international style architecture in America. The house's structure consists of precast concrete floor and roof slabs supported by a carefully crafted steel skeleton frame of beams, girders and columns.
Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum
Rockford, Illinois
Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum is a treasure trove of a time gone by. Rockford, Illinois businessman Robert H. Tinker built the home in 1865, perching it high on a limestone bluff overlooking Kent Creek. His inspiration came from an 1862 tour of Europe where he fell in love with the architecture of Switzerland. Today the Cottage is one of only a handful of Swiss-style homes remaining in the United States from the 1800s.
Tinker surrounded his Swiss Cottage with trees, vines, winding pathways and flower beds. A three-story Barn housed cows, chickens and in later years the family car. On the backside of the Cottage, a suspension bridge crossed Kent Creek and linked the Cottage with Mrs. Tinker's property on the far bank. In 1906, after the railroad bought her estate, Robert Tinker planted elaborate gardens at the end of the bridge.
The Tinker family, the sole occupants of the Swiss Cottage, left their home to the Rockford Park District and their household belongings to trustees after seventy-five years of residence. Filled with original furnishings, artwork, diaries and household items, the Cottage is a rich time capsule of life a century ago.
Web Site: www.tinkercottage.com/
Dana-Thomas House
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield's Dana-Thomas House is the best preserved and most complete of Frank Lloyd Wright's early "Prairie" houses. The structure has changed little since its construction in 1902-04 for Springfield socialite and women's activist Susan Lawrence Dana. Read More
The Cuneo Museum
Vernon Hills, Illinois
The Cuneo Museum was originally the home of Samuel Insull, a partner of inventor Thomas Edison. Insull founded the Commonwealth Edison Company in Chicago and was a pioneer in developing technology for the delivery of electrical services.
In 1914 architect Benjamin Marshall designed the Venetian style mansion and prairie style landscaper Jens Jensen laid out the gardens and park. After Insull's notorious financial collapse, John Cuneo purchased the property. He was best known as founder of the Cuneo Press and the Hawthorn Mellody Dairy. An avid collector, he filled the mansion with artwork, antique furnishings, tapestries, porcelain and silver.
As stipulated in his will, when Mrs. Cuneo died in 1990, the mansion, its collections and the surrounding estate was opened to the public and administered by the Cuneo Foundation.Public tours are conducted daily, except Monday. Concerts, lectures, art fairs and a classic car show are staged in the mansion or on the beautiful grounds. Facilities are available for wedding and party rental as well.
Web Site: www.cuneomuseum.org/
Indiana
Howard County Museum
Kokomo, Indiana
The musuem is made up of the Seiberling Mansion and the Elliott House, both historic mansions located in Kokomo, IN.
Web Site: www.howardcountymuseum.org
Kansas
The Lebold Mansion
Abilene, Kansas
Built in 1880 the 23 room Italinate Tuscan Villa Mansion has just under went extensive restoration returning it back to a late 19th century theme. Today the museum is home to some of the finest Victorian artifacts in the Mid west region. Located in the hometown of President Dwight Eisenhower. Open Tuesday -Sunday 10am-4pm closed Mondays Admision charged, Guided tours, Parking, Gift shop.
Web Site: lebold-mansion.com/
Louisiana
Hermann-Grima Historic House
New Orleans, Louisiana
Best example of Federal-style architecture in the French Quarter. Property includes 1831 mansion, large courtyard with slave quarter and working Creole kitchen, and the only intact 19th-century stable in the area.
Web Site: www.hgghh.org
Gallier House
New Orleans, Louisiana
Built as the private residence of James Gallier, Jr., a well-known New Orleans architect, the house features architectural details that were cutting-edge for the period.
Web Site: www.hgghh.org
Massachusetts
Cogswell's Grant
Essex, Massachusetts
Cogswell's Grant was the summer home of Bertram K. and Nina Fletcher Little, preeminent collectors of American folk art in the mid 20th century. In 1937, the Littles purchased this 18th-century farmhouse overlooking the Essex River as a family retreat and place to entertain. They restored it carefully, preserving original 18th-century finishes and carefully documenting their work. In more than 50 years of collecting, they sought works of strong, even quirky character, and in particular favored objects with their original finishes and New England histories.
The Littles decorated the house for visual delight rather than historic accuracy. The result is rich in atmosphere and crowded with collections of things -- primitive paintings, redware, painted furniture, stacked Shaker boxes, weather vanes and decoys -- that have since come to define the country look.
Open for tours June 1st - Oct. 15th, Wed. - Sun., 11am - 4pm.
Cogswell's Grant is a property of Historic New England, the oldest, largest, and most comprehensive regional preservation organization in the country. It operates thirty-six historic sites, offering unique opportunities to experience the lives and stories of New Englanders through their homes and possessions.
Visit online at HistoricNewEngland.org.
Web Site: www.historicnewengland.org/visit/homes/cogswell.htm
Michigan
Straight Farmhouse
Garden City, Michigan
This 1866 Gothic Revival farmhouse was the family home of Oscar & Mary Straight and their two children. Purchased by Friends of the Garden City Historical Museum in 2004 as a public museum dedicated to the history of early Garden City pioneers.
Web Site: www.sfhonline.org
North Carolina
The Whalehead Club at Currituck Heritage Park
Corolla, North Carolina
Art Nouveau architecture at it's finest- this 21,000 sq. ft. home was built in 1920s by Mr. & Mrs. E. C. Knight, Jr., as a winter residence. Avid waterfowl hunters the Knights' home displays custom light fixtures by Louis Comfort Tiffany and a custom mahogany Steinway piano, and so much more!
Web Site: www.whaleheadclub.org/
Nebraska
Frank House
Kearney, Nebraska
The Frank family built their 1889 showcase mansion to amaze their guests and encourage investment in their vision for Kearney as a community of cultural and economic excellence. The house was the first residence west of the Missouri River to be wired for electricity during construction and still features six of its original ten fireplaces, English golden oak paneling, hand carved woodwork, and a magnificent staircase that elegantly ascends to an authentic, Tiffany stained glass window. The University of Nebraska-Kearney preserves, interprets and shares the cultural resources of the Frank House with present and future generations. Visit us at 2010 University Drive, University of Nebraska-Kearney, 68849 during walk in hours, 2-5 T-Fri. and 1-5 Sat-Sun. No admission fee; donations appreciated. Arrangements for tours and for all large groups (eight or more people) are by reservation only and are also available outside of the regular museum walk-in hours.
Web Site: www.frankhouse.org/
New Jersey
Edward Hopper House Art Center
Nyack, New Jersey
Edward Hopper House Art Center is the birthplace and childhood home of artist Edward Hopper. The house, built in 1858, is on the National Register of Historic Places. It now services as a multi-arts center featuring exhibits of contemporary art, with a small section devoted to the life and work of Edward Hopper (no original Hopper works are in the house)
Web Site: www.hopperhouse.org/
New York
Thomas Cole National Historic Site
Catskill, New York
Thomas Cole (1801-1848) is the founder of the art movement known as the Hudson River School, establishing an approach to landscape painting that dominated American art for over 50 years. Cole's early paintings of nature untouched by human development reinforced notions of America as a new Eden, and launched America's first indigenous art movement. Today you can visit his Federal style brick home with a magnificent view of the Catskill Mountains, as well as his original studio building, where many of his best known masterpieces were created. Within 15 miles of his home are many of the landscapes that Cole painted, and a map is available to guide you to the views that appear in his paintings.
Web Site: www.thomascole.org/
Peter Augustus Jay House
Rye, New York
JAY HERITAGE CENTER – 1838 Peter Augustus Jay House
The Jay Property in Rye is the boyhood home of New York State’s only native Founding Father, John Jay (1745-1829). Located in Rye, next to a marshlands preserve with public trails, this sylvan and historic 23 acre park is all that remains of the original 400 acre Jay family estate where America’s first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and author of The Jay Treaty grew up. Located just 35 minutes from Manhattan, the Property has an 8000 year old scenic vista of Long Island Sound over a meadow bordered by sunken stone ha-ha walls, a European garden design feature added by Jay’s eldest son circa 1822. It is also located on the historic Boston Post Road where mile marker “24” out of 230, designated in 1763 by Jay’s colleague, Benjamin Franklin, is set into the perimeter wall.
Web Site: www.jaycenter.org/
Lyndhurst
Tarrytown, New York
Lyndhurst is one of America's finest Gothic Revival mansion and a remarkable example of the Hudson River's grand and historic estates. Lyndhurst has always been a place to escape the city and to enjoy the spectacular beauty of the Hudson River and the peaceful surroundings of the country.
Web Site: www.lyndhurst.org
Oregon
The Flippin Castle
Clatskanie, Oregon
This winter residence of the Hanna family of Cleveland, Ohio houses one of the nation’s most extensive collections of sporting art, bronzes,19th century furniture, porcelain, silver, crystal, glassware,33 Audubon lithographs, etc. The treasures of the Main House are the result of two generations of collecting. Architect Abram Garfield designed the Main House and numerous outbuildings, including a magnificent stable complex. The 3,000-acre estate includes lush grounds and gardens. House guests included many distinguished artists such as Ogden Pleissner and Richard Bishop; Gina Bachauer, international concert pianist; presidents Dwight Eisenhower and Jimmy Carter; ambassadors, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor; 1930s writer, actress and dramatist, Cornelia Otis Skinner. The overall impression one receives from this remarkable plantation is more felt than defined. Integrity, warmth, tradition, and beauty are here in equal measure to be savored by all.
Recently, Margo Bindhardt, Chairman of the Pebble Hill Board of Trustees, received an Award of Stewardship presented by Thomasville Landmarks for the care and preservations of Pebble Hill's buildings and landscape.
The house museum is open to the public.
Web Site: www.twrps.com/ccor/castle.html
Pennsylvania
The Baldwin-Reynolds House
Meadville, Pennsylvania
The Baldwin-Reynolds House Museum is the 1840s home of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Henry Baldwin. Baldwin, a Jackson appointee, became a major American historical figure from the time of Jackson's first (unsuccessful) presidential campaign in 1824 until Baldwin's death in 1844. After Baldwin's death, the home served as a girl's school for three years before being sold to Baldwin's nephew and founder of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad, William Reynolds. The home is on the National Register of Historic Places and is open for tours during summer months.
Web Site: www.baldwinreynolds.org/
Mount Pleasant Mansion
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Scottish ship captain John Macpherson (1726–1792) and his first wife, Margaret, built their grand country estate on this site—high atop cliffs overlooking the Schuylkill River—between 1762 and 1765. They employed as their builder-architect Thomas Nevell (1721–1797), an apprentice of Edmund Woolley, the builder of Independence Hall.
Both Macpherson and Nevell intended to make a bold statement with this house. Macpherson could announce his ambition to join established Philadelphia society, whose greatest city houses Mount Pleasant certainly rivaled. Nevell hoped to demonstrate his considerable craft and architectural knowledge. Together, they built one of the grandest homes along the Schuylkill, one that John Adams, on a visit to the residence in 1775, declared "the most elegant seat in Pennsylvania." Today, Mount Pleasant is considered one of the greatest American houses of its type, still standing on its original site in what is now Fairmount Park.
The breath-taking beauty of the house’s interiors and vistas, the elegance of the lifestyle of colonial elites, and the curiosities of Captain Macpherson’s life are all on display at Mount Pleasant. The rooms in this colonial masterpiece feature the craftsmanship of some of the leading Philadelphia artisans, such as carver Martin Jugiez.
Governed by the Fairmount Park Commission Administered by the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Web Site: www.fairmountparkhouses.org/244-37.html
The Caleb Pusey House
Upland, Pennsylvania
Built in 1683 and occupied by Caleb Pusey, this is the only building still standing which can claim documented association with the Proprietor, William Penn, and which he is known to have visited on several occasions. This unique English Vernacular house stands beside Race Street, the small road once paralleling the millrace that brought water from Chester Creek to power the mills.
"Landingford" was the name Pusey gave to the 100 - acre plantation adjoining the mill site which Penn had deeded to him and which he cultivated to raise food for his large family.
Pusey had come to Pennsylvania in 1682 to serve Penn as manager and agent for the Chester Mills, the first official Proprietary saw and grist mill to be established by Penn in the colony.
Web Site: calebpuseyhouse.home.comcast.net
Tennessee
Doak House Museum
Greeneville, Tennessee
The Doak House Museum is the home of Samuel Witherspoon Doak, the founder of Tusculum College, Tenneessee's oldest school.
Web Site: http://doakhouse.tusculum.edu
Falcon Rest Mansion and Gardens
McMinnville, Tennessee
Falcon Rest is the Victorian mansion where history is fun. It was built in 1896 by 'Gorilla Pants' manufacturer Clay Faulkner, who promised his wife "the grandest mansion in Tennessee" if she would move near his woolen mill. Called "Tennessee's Biltmore" by PBS, Falcon Rest had all the "modern conveniences" - electric lights, indoor plumbing, central heat and more. Today, it is filled with museum-quality Victorian antiques, and some say it's presided over by a friendly ghost - perhaps the proud builder himself. Falcon Rest's Victorian Gift Shop, with over 3,000 items that could have been in the mansion in the 1890s, has been called an attraction in itself. Delicious lunches are offered in the Tea Room for walk-ins daily. Special interactive, history-based entertainment shows with meals and mansion tours are available for tour groups by reservation. Located in McMinnville, "the nursery capital of the world," halfway between Nashville and Chattanooga. Open daily year round 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Web Site: www.falconrest.com
Texas
McFaddin-Ward House Museum
Beaumont, Texas
Beautiful Beaux Arts colonial mansion built in 1906 by Texas oil family. 12,800 square feet of space with sweeping porches, fine furnishings and valuable antiques. Spacious lawns and flower beds surround the three-floor home. Home’s original furnishings on display. Tours led by well-versed volunteer docents. Allow 90 minutes. $3/person. Call 409-832-2134 for tour reservation and avoid disappointment. Active Calendar of Events. Takes programs to schools and retirement homes and service clubs. Collection Highlights, museum books, and museum newsletters on website. Mounts national museum conference for historic house museums in 2010.
Web Site: www.mcfaddin-ward.org
Thistle Hill
Fort Worth, Texas
1904 Georgian Revival Cattle Baron's Mansion with Arts and Crafts interiors. 1.5 acre landscaped grounds feature a Carriage House, Tea House and Pergola. The Wharton-Scott House was a private residence for only 34 years, thus interior details are all intact and professionally restored. Tour includes both Thistle Hill and the nearby 1899 Ball-Eddleman-McFarland House. Both owned and operated by Historic Fort Worth, Inc., a local partner with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Web Site: www.historicfortworth.org
Edward Steves Homestead
San Antonio, Texas
This elegant three-story house, located in the King William Historic District on the east bank of the San Antonio River, was built in 1876 for Edward Steves, founder of the Steves Lumber Company. The design of the house has been attributed to Alfred Giles, a prominent San Antonio architect. The interior has retained many period details, including decorative paint work on the walls, and some original family furnishings. The property remained in the Steves family until 1952, when Mr. and Mrs. Curtis Vaughan (a Steves descendant) donated it to the San Antonio Conservation Society. Today, the Steves Homestead is interpreted as the home of a prosperous German immigrant family of Victorian era San Antonio.
Virginia
Monticello
Charlottesville, Virginia
Monticello is the autobiographical masterpiece of Thomas Jefferson, designed and redesigned and built and rebuilt for more than forty years.
Web Site: www.monticello.org
Gari Melchers Home and Studio
Falmouth, Virginia
Gari Melchers Home and Studio at Belmont - The richly furnished country house and working studio of American impressionist painter Gari Melchers (1860-1932) can be seen as they appeared in the 1920s. Explore the colorful formal gardens and wooded hiking trails of the artist's 27-acre retreat. Enjoy special exhibitions of the art of Melchers and his contemporaries.
Web Site: www.GariMelchers.org/
Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest
Forest, Virginia
One of only two homes designed for his own use, Poplar Forest was an important part of Thomas Jefferson’s life: a private retreat situated far from public scrutiny and the demands on his time. Jefferson sojourned to Poplar Forest regularly in his retirement, between the ages of 66-80, to find rest and leisure, rekindle his creativity and spend time with his grandchildren. He designed the perfectly octagonal house at Poplar Forest during his second term as President of the United States.
Since 1983, the nonprofit Corporation for Jefferson's Poplar Forest has worked to rescue and restore Thomas Jefferson's plantation and retreat home for the educational and cultural benefit of the public.
Poplar Forest is now a National Historic Landmark undergoing award-winning restoration and archaeology. Offering daily tours and special events, Poplar Forest is open April through November, Wednesday through Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Web Site: http://www.poplarforest.org/
Stonewall Jackson House
Lexington, Virginia
The Stonewall Jackson House in historic Lexington, Virginia, is the only house that famous Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson ever owned. The brick portion of the house was constructed in 1800 and the home was expanded in 1845 with the stone addition. Jackson and his second wife, Mary Anna Morrison Jackson, lived in this home just before the Civil War. Tours of the home focus on the decade before the war, and interpret Jackson's life as a professor, church leader, businessman, community leader, and husband.
Web Site: www.stonewalljackson.org/
Washington
Bigelow House Museum
Olympia, Washington
The Bigelow House Museum is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the early history of Olympia and Washington Territory. It is the oldest residence in Olympia, Washington and one of the earliest still standing in the Pacific Northwest.
Pioneer lawyer and Territorial Legislator Daniel R. Bigelow and his schoolteacher wife Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow built Bigelow House in the 1850s. They were pivotal figures in early Washington history and the struggle for women’s rights and public education.
The house is a charming example of the Carpenter Gothic style popular in rural America during the mid-1800s and is still surrounded by more than an acre of the family’s original land claim. The home displays original documents, artifacts, and furnishings representing 150 years of local, state and regional history.
Web Site: www.bigelowhouse.org/
Wisconsin
Charles Allis Art Museum
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The Charles Allis Art Museum is one of the few such ensembles preserved intact in its original form and some items in the collection are the only known examples of their kind in existence. To complement this collection, the Charles Allis Art Museum holds several changing exhibitions each year which feature the work by Wisconsin artists.
Web Site: www.cavtmuseums.org
Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
This Italian Renaissance-style villa, designed and built by architect David Adler in 1923, was originally the residence of Lloyd Smith of the A.O. Smith Corporation and his family. The Villa Terrace features fine and decorative arts dating from the 15th to the 18th centuries, wrought-iron masterpieces by Cyril Colnik and a formal Garden.
Web Site: www.cavtmuseums.org
Paine Art Center and Gardens
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
The Paine is a historic estate that serves as a multi-faceted museum for learning and inspiration.
The museum preserves the mansion, surrounding architectural structures, and many of the interiors as they were created by founders Nathan and Jessie Kimberly Paine.
Selections from the museum’s art collection, much of which was acquired by Nathan and Jessie, are featured in the many rooms and settings of the estate.
Web Site: www.thepaine.org/
Villa Louis
Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
Experience Victorian life during the 19th century as you visit the estate of one of Wisconsin's most prosperous families
Web Site: villalouis.wisconsinhistory.org
West Virginia
The Pearl S. Buck Birthplace Museum
Hillsboro, West Virginia
Built in 1852, this attractive three-story house in the country town of Hillsboro, West Virginia was hand-constructed by a Dutch refugee family escaping religious persecution in Holland. The famous author Pearl S. Buck was born in the home in 1892 while her parents were on leave from missionary work in China. Today, you can take a guided tour to learn about Pearl Buck and her family or stroll through the surrounding fields. The carpentry shop and barn contain over 100 historic farm and woodworking tools, and the log home of Pearl’s father’s family, the Sydenstrickers, has been moved from Greenbrier County to the property in Hillsboro for a second museum and cultural center.
Web Site: www.pearlsbuckbirthplace.com/
More Museums
Indiana
Built in 1845, Lane Place was the home of Henry S. and Joanna Lane. Lane was one of the founders of Indiana's Republican Party, chair of the first Republican Nationl Convention, Indiana's 23th governor, and Civil War Senator. Lane helped to secure Abraham Lincoln's nomination for president and was a delegate to Lincoln's funeral. Lane Place has been restored and features many of the original furnishings as well as artifacts related to Abraham Lincoln.
The museum is open for tours March through Mid-December, Wednesday - Friday 10-5 and Sunday 1-5. Lane Place is also the headquarters of the Montgomery County Historical Society, open year round Tuesday - Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 1-5.
Elwood Haynes Museum
Kokomo, IN
The museum is dedicated to the life and inventions of Elwood Haynes, including Stainless Steel, Stellite and other alloys, and the first production gasoline-powered car.
Kentucky
Ashland:
The Henry Clay Estate
Lexington, KY
The estate of Henry Clay, great 19th century Kentucky statesman "The Great Compromiser". Served as Senator, Speaker of the House, Peace Commissioner War of 1812 and Secry of State under Pres. J.Q. Adams & Compromise of 1850. 17 acre estate. National Historic Landmark. 1856 mansion, original Clay dependencies include ice houses, smoke house, caretaker's cottage, dairy cellar. Walking trails, formal garden and seasonal cafe.
Open for tours.
Owned & operated by a private non-profit foundation - Henry Clay Memorial Foundation.
Louisiana
Edgar Degas Foundation
New Orleans, LA
The home of French artist Edgar Degas while on a visit to the US in 1872-73. He was visiting maternal relatives, as his mother and grandmother were natives of Louisiana.
Longue View House and Gardens
New Orleans, LA
Longue Vue House and Gardens, a National Historic Landmark, is one of the last Country Place Era estates to be built. Built from 1939-1942 for philanthropists Edgar Bloom Stern, of New Orleans, and his wife Edith Rosenwald Stern, of Chicago. The combined work of renowned landscape architect Ellen Biddle Shipman and architects William and Geoffrey Platt created a complete unified plan for the main house and dependences along the eight acre site. Decorated with European and American decorative and fine arts pieces each room was designed to look out and allow egress to a different “garden rooms” blending effortlessly inside and out.
Maine
Skolfield-Whittier House
Brunswick, ME
The Skolfield-Whittier House, currently a museum of the Pejepscot Historical Society, once housed three generations of the Skolfield-Whittier family. Built between 1858-1862, the house has been virtually untouched since the last family member moved out in 1925.
Now, the Skolfield-Whittier House is available for tours at 11 am & 2 pm every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from June through Columbus Day. Guests of these tours learn what Victorian life was like for an upper-class Brunswick shipbuilding family. This time capsule of a home is not be missed!
Tours are $5.00 for adults & $2.50 for children 16 and under. AAA discounts DO apply.
Maryland
Mount Harmon Plantation
Earleville, MD
Mount Harmon Plantation originated as a land grant of 350 acres to Godfrey Harmon by Caecilious Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, in 1651.
During the seventh and eighteenth centuries, Mount Harmon prospered as a tobacco plantation. As you drive down the two-mile lane, through the tunnel formed by Osage orange trees, you will appreciate the isolation of those times, when transportation moved most freely by water. Three of the owners during the period had their own schooners to transport tobacco to the British Isles and return with furnishings and necessities for the house and farm.
James Louttit, a Scotsman who bought Mount Harmon in 1760, called his schooner the "Bee". He, his irish wife Mary George, and their descendants lived in Mount Harmon from 1760 to 1810. Their families' coats of arms are displayed on the gate posts. Subsequently, the plantation passed into another branch of the family.
In 1817, Mount Harmon became the property of Sidney George Fisher. He is known today for his copious diaries in which he describes society, plantation life and agriculture in the nineteenth century. In 1927, at the death of his son, a historian who spelled his name Sydney George Fisher, Mount Harmon passed out of the family.
Massachusetts
The
Emily Dickinson Museum: The Homestead & The Evergreens
Amherst, MA
The Museum consists of two historic houses in the center of Amherst, Massachusetts, closely associated with the poet Emily Dickinson and members of her family during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Homestead was the birthplace and home of the poet Emily Dickinson. The Evergreens, next door, was home to her brother Austin, his wife Susan, and their three children.
The Nichols House Museum
Boston, MA
Amid the beautiful townhouses of Boston’s historic Beacon Hill district stands the home of a remarkable woman, Miss Rose Standish Nichols. Her four story townhouse at 55 Mount Vernon Street was built in 1804 and is attributed to Charles Bulfinch, renowned Boston architect. The Federal style home contains a dazzling array of artwork collected by the Nichols family, from paintings and prints to antique furniture, silver, textiles, and ceramics. This varied collection spans the globe and centuries as well, representing American, Asian, and European art from the 16th to the 20th centuries. Among the many cherished objects in the Museum’s collection are works by Miss Nichols’ uncle, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, America’s foremost sculptor of the 19th century.
Perhaps even more astonishing than her splendid home is the story of Rose Nichols herself. Born in 1872, she was an author, suffragist, lifelong pacifist, and women’s rights activist at a time when women were expected to marry and have children. Miss Nichols chose to do neither, instead supporting herself through a pioneering career in landscape architecture. In fact, she was one of the first women to become a professional landscape designer in the United States. A multi-faceted woman, she also devoted her time to numerous social reform movements and helped found the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom in 1915.
Rose Nichols left her house as a museum so that people could learn about the life of a Boston Brahmin family at the turn of the last century. Since 1961, the Nichols House Museum has been open to the public, offering visitors a glimpse of the unique social history of Beacon Hill during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
The
Sargent House Museum
Gloucester, MA
For over 100 years, the Sargent House Museum was the home of sea merchants, patriots and community leaders. A fine example of high-style Georgian domestic architecture, the house was built in 1782 for Judith Sargent Murray (1751-1820), a philosopher, writer and an early advocate of social justice.
Visitors to the Sargent House Museum learn about the early history of Gloucester from its beginnings as a farming and lumbering outpost to its evolution into the country’s premier seaport. Visitors will also see a collection of original works by the great portrait painter John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) who traces his roots back to Judith Sargent Murray and Colonial Gloucester.
House
of Seven Gables
Salem, MA
When you arrive at The House of the Seven Gables - which constitutes its own national historic district on The National Register of Historic places - costumed interpreters will warmly greet you for an unforgettable historical experience. Outside, spectacular seaside gardens await you. Inside of The House of the Seven Gables, also known as the Turner-Ingersoll Mansion, you will discover a mysterious secret staircase where you least expect it! Built in 1668, this is the oldest surviving 17th century wooden mansion in New England. The House of the Seven Gables inspired author Nathaniel Hawthorne to write his legendary novel of the same name.
Stonehurst,
The Robert Treat Paine Estate
Waltham, MA
The country home of social reformer and affordable housing advocate Robert
Treat Paine, Stonehurst is an American masterpiece crowning the career-long
collaboration between architect Henry Hobson Richardson (Trinity Church,
Boston) and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, leading 19th century
designers who deeply influenced the way Americans live and relate to their
environment, from dense cities to unspoiled wilderness. Hidden from the
street on 109 acres of conservation land, Stonehurst is the most intact
example of Richardson's innovative approach to country house design and
the only one that is open to the public. Built in 1886, the convention-breaking
house crowns a spectacular rise selected by Olmsted, founder of the parks
movement nationwide. The house also incorporates an older house (1866)
recycled and relocated uphill on the site.
Michigan
Henry Ford Estate
Dearborn, MI
Return to the world of automotive pioneer Henry Ford at the Henry Ford Estate ~ Fair Lane in Dearborn, Michigan.
Meadow Brook Hall is the fourth largest historic house museum in the United States and is renowned for its superb craftsmanship, architectural detailing and grand scale. Built between 1926 and 1929 as the residence of Matilda Dodge Wilson (widow of auto pioneer John Dodge) and her second husband, lumber broker Alfred G. Wilson, the 110-room, 88,000-square-foot, Tudor-revival style mansion is complete with vast collections of original art and furnishings.
R. J. and Mary Whaley's home on East Kearsley Street is representative of the establishment of the upper class in Flint, Michigan during the Victorian era. The home exhibits the transition between the community's lumbering and agricultural era to the establishment and rise of heavy industry. R. J. Whaley was the president of Citizens Bank and provided the initial loans that led to the creation of General Motors.
Thumb
Octagon Barn
Gagetown, MI
The barn is a warehouse and a factory, a place of business, and a storehouse for farm equipment. It is one of the farmer's most important agricultural tools. The barn was originally used for threshing grain, milking cows, and storing hay. But it was also a place for dancing, playing, and courting. It was the heart of the farm and a vital part of the community.
Voight
House Victorian Museum
Grand Rapids, MI
Voigt House is an 1895 Chateauesque style mansion built by German immigrant
and busnessman, Carl Voigt. His family occupied and preserved the
house for 76 years and it contains their original decor, furnishings
and possessions. It is a property of the Public Museum of Grand Rapids
and is located in Heritage Hill which consists of 1300 homes and buildings,
one of the largest areas on the National Register of Historic Places.
Edsel and Eleanor Ford House
Gross Pointe Shores, MI
Edsel & Eleanor Ford House tells the story of the home life of a prominent American family. The Fords were cultural, social and economic leaders in an era of great optimism, as well as a turbulent time of economic depression and world war. They were nationally prominent and they owned more than one house, but Southeast Michigan was their home. Here they built their final residence along the shores of Lake St. Clair, at a place known locally as Gaukler Pointe. Their impressive yet unpretentious home is where they raised and nurtured their four children - Henry II, Benson, Josephine and William - in a safe and loving environment. It reflects their love of family as well as their mutual passion for art and quality design.
Alden B. Dow Home and Studio
Midland, MI
The Alden B. Dow Home and Studio in Midland, Michigan, is a masterpiece of contemporary organic architecture. Designed in 1933 by Alden B. Dow, his own home and studio personifies the idea that gardens never end and buildings never begin. It integrates the best elements of nature with the remarkable visions of man-made ingenuity. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989, the Alden B. Dow Home and Studio is shared with the public through educational programming, public and group tours and by researchers utilizing the Alden B. Dow Archives, the on-site repository of Mr. Dow's architectural records.
Missouri
Chatillon-De Menil House
St. Louis, MO
Located in Benton Park, the Chatillon-DeMenil Mansion is one of St. Louis' most interesting historic homes.
Originally built in 1848 by Henri Chatillon and later updated in 1861, the Chatillon-DeMenil Mansion features guided tours, a gift shop, a café, and the largest permanent collection of memorabilia from the 1904 World's Fair.
New Jersey
The Hermitage, a National Historic Landmark house museum, incorporates a stone structure that was visited during the Revolutionary War by Washington, Hamilton, and Lafayette. It was the site of the marriage of Aaron Burr and Theodosia Prevost in 1782. Its picturesque Gothic Revival design dates to the 1847 remodeling by architect William H. Ranlett.
North Carolina
Four of the most fascinating acres at Biltmore Estate are all under one roof. America's largest home boasts 250 rooms, 65 fireplaces, an indoor pool, bowling alley, priceless art and antiques.
This exquisite 1792 home was built by Revolutionary War hero, General William Lenoir and named for a frontier fort that stood nearby. The home has been fully restored to its late 18th, early 19th century splendor. Considered to be one of the most unique restorations in the country, the home still contains more than 300 pieces of its original furnishings and artifacts. It was lived in continously by the Lenoir family until 1961.
Reynolda House Museum of American Art
Winston-Salem, NC
Former country estate of R.J. and Katherine Smith Reynolds, the mansion was built in 1917 along with formal gardens and a full village. Now it is part of the Reynolda Historic District well within the city limits of Winston-Salem, N.C. The collection is famous for masterpieces from 3 centuries.
Single Brothers House
Winston-Salem, NC
Part of the Old Salem restoration, the Single Brothers House was built in 1769 and housed the single men of the Moravian town of Salem, N.C. (now part of Winston-Salem). The house is part of one of the nation's largest and most authentic living history restorations, which includes many other 18th century buildings that were part of the colonial town.
Ohio
Stan
Hywet Hall & Gardens
Akron, OH
In 1896, F.A. Seiberling founded The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, naming it after Charles Goodyear, the inventor of the vulcanization process for rubber. It was the turn of the twentieth century and the Industrial Age was forming modern America where cities grew and industries flourished. Akron, Ohio was no exception -- it built its foundation on the rubber industry to become the "Rubber Capital of the World."
Oklahoma
The
Marland Mansion "The Palace on the Prairie"
Ponca City, OK
The Marland story is fascinating and his home is an architectural wonder. It was designed and constructed as a showplace for pieces of fine art and in the process, it became a masterpiece in its own right.
This National Historic Landmark took three years to construct, 1925 to 1928. The mansion is 78 feet wide and 184 feet long, and contains 43,561 square feet distributed over four levels. There are 55 rooms, including 10 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, 7 fireplaces, and 3 kitchens. It takes 861 light bulbs to light the mansion.
Oregon
The Flavel House Museum
Astoria, OR
As one of the best preserved examples of Queen Anne architecture in the Northwest, the Flavel House survives today as a landmark of local and national significance. The house was built in 1884-85, for Captain George Flavel and his family. The Captain, who made his fortune through his occupation as a river bar pilot and through real estate investments, built the Flavel House as his retirement home at the age of 62. The Flavel House has been restored to accurately portray the elegance of the Victorian period and the history of the Flavel family.
The Shelton-McMurphey-Johnson House
Eugene, OR
The Shelton McMurphey Johnson House was built in 1888 on a hill overlooking the city of Eugene, Oregon. The three families who occupied the house witnessed and contributed to the transformation of Eugene from a frontier farming town to a thriving education and commercial center. Known in its day as the "Castle on the Hill," the Shelton-McMurphey-Johnson House stands as a classic example of Queen Anne-style Victorian mansion of the late 19th century. The house is now owned by the city and administered by the non-profit Shelton-McMurphey-Johnson Associates. It is open for viewing at scheduled times and for special tours by appointment.
The Asahel Bush House Museum
Salem, OR
Bush House typifies a Victorian home in the truest sense of that word. Built by Asahel Bush II in 1877-78 and occupied by members of his family for the next seventy-five years, the house remains theirs in spirit. In fact, much of what once belonged to Asahel and his four children can still be found in their home, as it did in the family's day. Bush House plays a significant part in the Salem Community - - the pleasant ambiance instilled by the Bushes continues to delight all who visit this wonderful residence.
Pennsylvania
Fallingwater is recognized as one of Wright's most acclaimed works, and in a 1991 poll of members of the American Institute of Architects, it was voted "the best all-time work of American architecture." It is a supreme example of Frank Lloyd Wright's concept of organic architecture, which promotes harmony between man and nature through design so well integrated with its site that buildings, furnishings, and surroundings become part of a unified, interrelated composition. Wright embraced modern technology to achieve this, designing spaces for living which expressed architecturally the expansive freedom of the American frontier.
"Clayton is a triumph of restoration," wrote Susan Mary Alsop in Architectural Digest. It is also a triumph of preservation. When the Frick family moved to New York in 1905, after living at Clayton for 22 years, they left much of their Pittsburgh life behind. An astonishing 93% of the artifacts in the house are original, making Clayton a home more than a house, and an eloquent evocation of the lives of the family who lived there. Clayton has welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors since it was opened to the public in 1990 after a four-year restoration.
South Carolina
Heyward House Historic Center
Bluffton, SC
This is a house built in 1841 and was occupied until 1998. It is currently owned by the Bluffton Historical Preservation Society and operated currently as Bluffton's only house museum and welcome center.
Rose Hill Mansion
Bluffton, SC
Rose Hill Plantation House/ Rose Hill Mansion is a history house museum open for tours and can be rented for weddings and events by calling (843) 757-6046.
Woodburn
Historic House
Pendleton, SC
Woodburn was built before 1830 by Charles Cotesworth Pinckney as a summer plantation house on a 650 acre farm near Pendleton, SC in the SC "Upstate". The house is a majestic four-story clapboard house with expansive two-story "piazzas", high-ceilings, oversized doors and windows and is reflective of the architectural tradition of Caribbean plantaion houses built for coolness. The house was occupied by the wealthy Charleston families (Pinckneys, Adgers, Smythes) as a summer retreat for 80 years before being converted to a tenant farm with multiple families occupying the Big House. The farm was the birthplace of Jane Edna Harris Hunter, the daughter of former slaves, who became a leading activitist and reformer in her adopted home of Cleveland, OH. The house was restored in the 1970's by the Pendleton Historic Foundation and is operated as a house museum with multiple outbuildings and walking trails interpreting live on the farm.
Tennessee
Belle
Meade Plantation
Nashville, TN
19th Century Greek Revival home on 30 acres. Original 1790s cabin, Carriage house, dairy, smoke house, and garden/green house. One of the top Thoroughbred Stud Farms throughout the nineteenth century. Open daily for tours.
The
Hermitage, Home of President Andrew Jackson
Nashville, TN
The Hermitage is one of the largest and most popular presidental museums in the U.S. Nearly 15 million people from around the world have visited since opening in 1889. A nonprofit organization preserves and operates this 1,120-acre National Historic Landmark located in Nashville, Tennessee. Open daily 9-5 p.m.
Texas
The French Legation Museum
Austin, TX
The French Legation Museum is a non-profit historic home museum housed within Austin's oldest existing wood-framed structure. Built in 1841 when Austin was the capital for the Republic of Texas, the home was built by the French diplomat, Alphonse Dubois. The Museum offers guided tours Tuesdays through Sundays from 1-4pm.
The Heritage Society
Houston, TX
The Heritage Society Museum is located at 1100 Bagby, Sam Houston Park. Founded in 1954, The Heritage Society is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization which strives to preserve the history of the community through preservation, restoration of historic structures, exhibition and educational programs. Through permanent and rotating museum exhibits, daily historic structure tours, special lectures, events and trips, children and adults are able to understand and experience life in early Houston.
Vermont
Robert Todd Lincoln's Hildene
Manchester, VT
In 1902, Robert Todd Lincoln, the eldest son of President Abraham & Mary Todd Lincoln, hired a Boston architectural firm to build a stately home on a promontory overlooking the Battenkill Valley in Manchester, Vermont. The site he chose commanded sweeping views of the valley bordered by the Taconic Mountains to the west and the Green Mountains to the east. His magnificent Georgian Revival style home was completed three years later. Robert Todd Lincoln named his new home Hildene meaning "hill" and "valley." Hildene would be Mr. Lincoln's summer home for the next 21 years and would be the only house in America where all of Abraham Lincoln's descendants would eventually reside.
Virginia
Riddick's Folly House Museum
Suffolk, VA
The 21-room, 8,000 square-foot mansion of the Riddick family also served as headquarters for the Union Army during its occupation of Suffolk, Virginia during the Civil War. Built in 1837 in the Greek Revival style, the house now features restored double parlors, sitting rooms, bedrooms, and a laundry facility, all with period furniture and art.
Wisconson
The
Pabst Mansion
Milwaukee, WI
The founder of Pabst Blue Ribbon, Captain Frederick Pabst, finished his Flemish Renaissance Revival Mansion in 1892. Today it's a lovely museum.
International
Canada
Beaulieu Historic Site - The Lougheed House
Calgary, Canada
Beaulieu is the 1891 Lougheed House, a designated National Historic Site in the heart of Calgary, Canada. The 2.8-acre estate, a public park known as Beaulieu Gardens, is open daily from 7:00 a.m. until sundown. The grand sandstone mansion is under restoration and is expected to reopen as a public heritage centre early in 2005.