Historic House Museums in Indiana

We try to keep this list of historic house museums for Indiana current, but it is best to check directly with the museums for their hours and other information. If you know of a historic house museum in Indiana that should be listed here, please use our submission form to let us know about it.

Anderson

Gruenewald House

This three story Second Empire style house was built in 1860. Living history tours present the house as it was when Martin Gruenewald, a local businessman, completed it. The home is decorated with turn of the century furnishings.

Open Tue-Fri 10-3 Apr-Dec 15; by appointment rest of the year • 626 Main St.• (765) 648-6875

Aurora

Hillforest

This 1852 Italian Renaissance mansion was built for Thomas Gaff, an Ohio Valley industrialist. The 10 acre estate reflects the grand lifestyle available to the wealthy of that period. The "steamboat" verandas and balconies offer excellent views of the Ohio River.

Open Tue-Sun 1-5 May-Dec 23 • 213 Fifth St. • (812) 926-0087

Belmont

T.C. Steele State Historic Site

The home and studio of Theodore Clement Steele, Indiana landscape artist.

Open Tue-Sat 9-5, Sun 1-5 Mar-Dec • 1.5 miles south off of SR46 • (812) 988-2785

Berne

Swiss Heritage Village

Five buildings moved to the grounds and are in the process of being restored.

Open Jun 1 thru Nov 1 , Mon-Sat 9-4 • 1200 Swiss Way • (260) 589-8007

Bloomington

Wylie House

Built in 1835, Wylie House was the home of Indiana University's first president, Andrew Wylie, and his family. Today Wylie House is owned and operated by Indiana University as an historic house museum recreating the Wylie home of the 1840s. The house is distinctive and unusual for south-central Indiana, a blend of Federal and Georgian styles of architecture more characteristic of southwest Pennsylvania, where Wylie was born and raised. It is one of the few pre-1840 structures remaining in Bloomington and it is the only historic house museum in the county.

Open Tue-Sat 10-2 Mar-Nov • 307 E. Second St.• (812) 855-6224

Cambridge

Huddleston Farmhouse Inn Museum

The museum is comprised of a three story Federal style farmhouse (c.1840), barn, smokehouse, and springhouse. It is furnished in period.

Open Tue-Fri 10-4, Sun 1-4 May-Aug • .5 miles west on US 40 • (765) 478-3172

Corydon

Corydon Capitol State Historic Site

Governor Hendrick's Headquarters, the former home of Indiana's second elected governor, is furnished with mid-19th century antiques.

Open Tue-Sat 9-5, Sun 1-5; Closed on Sun during Dec-Mar • 202 E. Walnut St. • (812) 738-4890

Posey House Museum

The Federal style house built in 1817 has seven rooms furnished in period.

Open Tue-Sun 12-5 May-Sep; Tue-Fri 12-5, rest of the year • 225 Oak St. • (812) 738-6921

Crawfordsville

Henry S. Lane Home

The Henry S. Lane Antebellum Mansion is a beautiful Greek Revival home that has enjoyed a complete and careful restoration. Henry and his wife Joann built the home in 1845. Lane was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1860 but his most noteworthy accomplishment may be his direct involvement with securing the nomination of Abraham Lincoln for the presidency. Lane later served as a pallbearer at Lincoln's funeral and a lock of Lincoln's hair is on display at the mansion. Over ten rooms full of the Lanes' original furnishings and belongings make this historic home an authentic example of a pre-Civil War dwelling. National Register of Historic Places.

See their web site for hours • 212 S. Water St. • (765) 362-3416 or (800) 866-3973

Gen. Lew Wallace Study

The Ben Hur Museum was built by General Lew Wallace for use as his private library and a quiet place where he could write. The Civil War General wrote the world's most famous fictional work: Ben Hur. Wallace designed and built the structure in 1896. The building is a National Historic Landmark and home to Wallace's life collections. In addition to his acclaim as a celebrated author, Wallace was an artist, violinist and inventor. Four acres of lovely grounds and the building are entirely enclosed by a massive brick wall.

Open Tue-Sun 1-4:30 Apr-May & Sep-Oct; Wed-Sat 10-4:30, Tue & Sun 1-4:30 Jun-Aug • 200 Wallace Avenue • (765) 362-5769 or (800) 866-3973

Dana

Ernie Pyle State Historic Site

The birthplace of Ernie Pyle, the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, is a restored farmhouse typical of a Mid-western home of 1900. It is decorated with photographs and Victorian furniture and antiques.

Open Tue-Sat 9-5 Sun 1-5, Apr-Nov • 20 W. Briarwood Ave. • (765) 665-3633

Elkhart

Ruthmere Museum

The 1908 Beaux Arts style mansion was home to A.R. Beardsley, one of the founders of Miles Laboratories. The mansion is decorated with restored velvet and silk wall coverings and ornately painted ceilings. The exterior features a wrap-around marble veranda. The tour also includes the attached greenhouse and garage, which includes three classic automobiles.

Open Apr-Dec with tours on the hour. Tue-Sat, 10-3, Sun 1-3 • 302 E. Beardsley Ave. • (574) 264-0330

Evansville

Reitz Home Museum

Built in 1871 for John Augustus Reitz, this French Second Empire style mansion was a showcase for the "Lumber Baron of the United States." The interior features original and period furnishings, ornately painted ceilings, intricate plasterwork, stained-glass windows, and parquet flooring throughout.

Open Wed-Sun 1-4, Feb 1-Dec15 • 224 S.E. First Ave. • (812) 426-1871

Fishers

Conner Prarie

Conner Prairie is an open-air living history museum. It serves as a local, regional, and national center for research and education about the lives, times, attitudes, and values of early 19th-century settlers in the Old Northwest Territory, based upon the Indiana experience. Conner Prairie features a modern Museum Center, special facilities, and three historic areas: the historic 1836 village of Prairietown, the 1823 William and Elizabeth Conner Home, and the Pioneer Adventure Area. The museum and historic areas are set on a 210 acre site featuring wooded areas and orchards along the White River in central Indiana.

Check their web site for current hours of operation • 13400 Allisonville Rd. • (317) 776-6000 or (800) 966-1836

Fountain City

The Levi Coffin House State Historic Site

This 1839 Federal style house was known as the "Grand Central Station of the Underground Railroad." During the 20 years that Levi and Catharine Coffin lived here, they helped more than 2,000 slaves make their way to freedom in Canada. It is furnished in period.

See web site for hours • 113 US 27 N • (765) 847-2432

Geneva

Limberlost State Historic Site

The two story Limberlost Cabin, home of author, photographer, and naturalist Gene Stratton Porter was built using white cedar logs and redwood shingles. It was designed to blend in with the environment. The home contains some of her original furnishings, personal belongings, and photographic works.

Open Wed-Sat 10-5, Sun 1-5, Apr-Dec • 200 E. 6th St. • (260) 368-7428

Greenfield

James Whitcomb Riley Birthplace Museum

This renovated house is where James Whitcomb Riley spent his childhood. The house next door chronicles the poet's life with displays of his works, period antiques, and photos.

Open Mon-Sat 10-4, Sun 1-4 Apr-Nov • 250 W. Main St. • (317)462-8539

Huntington

Historic Forks of the Wabash

The house has been restored to its appearance in 1846, the last year that Chief Lafontaine lived in the house. The Chiefs' House was built by Chief John B. Richardville about 1834, probably in preparation for the treaty negotiations which were held at the Forks in that year.

Call for hours • 3010 West Park Drive• (260) 356-1903

Indianapolis

Benjamin Harrison Home

Built in 1875 for the 23rd president, the house has been restored as a national shrine and contains a collection of gowns belonging to Mrs. Harrison and her daughter. President Harrison lived in the house, except during his presidency, until his death in 1901. The house is furnished with original pieces and a portrait of the president by T.C. Steele.

Open Mon-Sat 10-3:30 year round, and Sun 12:30-3:30 Jul, Aug, Dec • 1230 N. Delaware St. • (317) 631-1888

Home of James Whitcomb Riley

This 1872 home, a National Historic Landmark, is considered by historical experts to be one of the most perfectly preserved Victorian houses in the U.S. It was here that Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley spent the last 23 years of his life. Lockerbie Square, where the Riley home is located, is a restored 19th-century downtown residential area.

Open Tue-Sat 10-3:30, Sun 12-3:30 • 528 Lockerbie St. • (317) 631-5885

Indianapolis Museum of Art

Oldfields, an estate of the American Country Place era, is a rare surviving example in the Midwest of an important period in American landscape history. Its house, gardens and grounds were laid out in the 1910s and 1920s at a time when wealthy families were leaving the city to build expansive country estates. The house, built by Hugh McKennon Landon between 1912 and 1914, overlooks the White River valley and currently houses the museum's decorative arts collection.

The Museum is open Tue, Wed, Fri and Sat 10- 5, Thu 10-8:30, Sun12-5; The Lilly Pavilion of Decorative Arts is open Tue-Sun 10-5 p.m, THu 10-9 • 4000 Michigan Road • (317) 923-1331

Morris-Butler House

The restored Second Empire style home was completed in 1865. The museum represents local Victorian family lifestyles using period furniture, rich floral carpets and draperies, elegant chandeliers, intricate mantelpieces and other woodwork.

Open Wed-Sat 10-3:30 Feb to mid-Dec • 1204 N. Park Ave. • (317) 636-5409

Jeffersonville

Howard Steamboat Museum

This 22-room Romanesque Revival mansion was erected during the 1890s by Edmond J. Howard, son of James Howard, founder of the Howard Ship Yards. Designed by Louisville architects Max J. Drach and John Hardin Thomas and built at a cost of $85,000, much of its excellent craftsmanship reflects the work of company shipbuilders. The house features both stained and leaded-glass windows, paneled rooms, and a music room in the Moorish style complete with its original neo-Louis XV furniture. The museum houses a fascinating collection of navigational equipment, paddlewheels and replicas of steamboats, among other exhibits. The Queen Anne-style carriage house and an extensive yard enclosed by a heavy brick wall are features which accent the lifestyle of a wealthy Gilded Age family. The entire structure recently underwent extensive restoration.

Open Tue-Sat 10-4, Sun 1-4 • 1101 East Market St. • (888) 472-0606

Kokomo

Seiberling Mansion

In 1887 Seiberling, who had manufactured everything from twine to plate glass during his residence in Akron, established the Kokomo Strawboard Company, which employed approximately seventy-five people to take ordinary straw and produce shoe boxes. Six months later, Seiberling sold his company (at a profit) to the American Strawboard Company. Despite the sale, Seiberling remained in business in Kokomo, opening the Diamond Plate Glass Company. Although the one-time Ohio industrialist's Kokomo factories were impressive, he is best remembered for a more personal project--his family's home, which became known as the Seiberling Mansion. The structure, a mixture of Neo-Jacobean and Romanesque Revival styles built at a cost of $50,000, is today occupied by the Howard County Historical Society, which has painstakingly restored the mansion for use as a county historical museum.

Open Tue-Sun 1-4. Feb-Dec • 1200 W. Sycamore St. • (765) 452-4314

Lafayette

The Moses Fowler House

The Tippecanoe County Historical Museum is housed in the English Gothic house built by Moses Fowler in 1851. Fowler, one of the area's leading merchants and cattlemen, was anxious to have a home reflecting his social status. He obtained a copy of the British book Architecture of Country Houses and proceeded to design his own house. The home was built by a local contractor using native white oak and black walnut woodwork. The ornamental work on the parlor ceilings was done by Italian artisans from New York who traveled to Lafayette via the Wabash and Erie Canal.

Call for hours • 909 South St. • (765) 476-8411

Lebanon

Cragun House

Victorian house built in 1893 is home of the Boone County Historical Society.

Open Tue 1-4 • 404 West Main Street • (765) 483-9414

Logansport

Museum of the Cass County Historical Society

The museum consists of the 1853 Jerolaman-Long Home, a cabin, a carriage barn, and a schoolroom.

Open Tue-Sat 1-5, Closed Jan • 1004 E. Market St. • (574) 753-3866

Madison

James F.D. Lanier State Historic Site

Designated a National Historic Landmark, this Greek Revival mansion was the home of James Lanier, whose loans to the state of Indiana enabled the state to equip Union troops during the Civil War. Completed in 1844, the mansion was designed by Francis Costigan.

Visit web site for hours • 601 W. First St. • (812) 265-3526

Schofield House

Built circa 1816 in the federal style, this is believed to be the first two-storied tavern house in Madison.

Open Mon-Sat 9:30-4, Sun 12:30-4 Apr- Nov • 217 West Second • (812) 265-4759

Shrewsbury House

Designated a National Historic Landmark, the home of river boat entrepreneur Captain Charles L. Shrewsbury was designed by Francis Costigan and completed in 1849.

Open daily 10-4:30 Apr-Dec • 301 West First • (812) 265-4481

Jeremiah Sullivan House

Built in 1818, and considered Madison first mansion, this home features the only known restored federal serving kitchen on record in the country.

Call for hours • 209 West Second St. • (812) 265-2967

Francis Costigan House

The architect of the Lanier and Shrewsbury-Windle houses completed his residence in 1851. Considered a masterpiece of design, it incorporates massive and complex architectural elements in very limited space.

Call for hours • 408 West Third St. • (812) 265-2967

Michigan City

Barker Mansion & Civic Center

Barker Mansion is the former residence of local millionaire-industrialist, John H. Barker, who built the Haskell & Barker Railroad Car Company, which later became Pullman-Standard. The mansion was built in 1857, and shortly after the elaborate 38 room structure was finished, both Mr. and Mrs. Barker passed away, leaving the mansion and the Barker fortune to their only child, Catherine, who later donated the structure to Michigan City. The building is now a lasting tribute to Barker's philanthropy and is open to the public for tours. A tour of the mansion and grounds makes for a fascinating study in "gracious living." It is typical of turn-of-the-century opulence and features rare woods and marble, beautiful one-of-a-kind tapestries, impressive collections of books and paintings, and a third-story ballroom where the Barkers entertained in royal fashion.

Tours: Mon-Fri 10, 11:30 & 1 (Jun-Oct), Sat-Sun 12 & 2 • 631 Washington St. • (219) 873-1520

Muncie

Moore-Youse Home Museum

The Moore-Youse Home Museum contains numerous artifacts of Historic Muncie, including furnishings, paintings, documents, and photos.

Open Tue-Fri 12-4 • 120 E. Washington St. • (765) 282-1550

Nashville

Brown County Art Guild

The art guild presents the work of local and regional artists in the historic Minor House.

Open Mon-Sat 10-5, Sun 11-5 Mar 1-Dec 24; Weekends, Jan-Feb • 48 South Van Buren • (812) 988-6185

New Albany

Culbertson Mansion State Historic Site

With its hand-painted ceilings, carved rosewood staircase, marble fireplaces, and crystal chandeliers, the Culbertson Mansion reflects the affluence of a man once considered to be the wealthiest in Indiana. The three-story Second Empire mansion encompasses over 20,00 square feet and contains 25 rooms.

Open Tue-Sat 9-5, Sun 1-5 Apr-Nov • 914 East Main Street • (812) 944-9600

Scribner House

Built in 1814 by Joel and Mary Scribner, this simple wood-frame, Federal-style structure is the oldest building in New Albany. The two-and-one-half story house has a basement, two parlors, and a hall on the first floor, three bedrooms and a hall on the second floor. A two-level rear porch provides a spectacular view of the Ohio River. Today the house is owned by the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and serves as its meeting place.

Tours are available by advance reservations only. • State & Main Streets • (812)949-1776

New Castle

Eugene V. Debs Home

The Henry County Historical Society Museum

The Henry County Historical Society Museum is located in the home of Civil War General William Grose. During the Civil War, he commanded the 36th Indiana Regiment and fought at such battles as Chickamauga and Atlanta. The Italianate style house was built in 1870 by the General and his wife Rebecca after he returned to New Castle to resume his law practice. He died in 1900, and the home was acquired as a museum in 1901 by the Henry County Historical Society. In 1983, the house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Open Mon-Sat 1-4:30 • 606 South 14th St. • (765) 529-4028

Richmond

Gaar Mansion and Farm Museum

Jonas Gaar and his sons, Abram and John Milton Gaar, and Jonas' son-in-law, William G. Scott were founders of Gaar-Scott and Company, the leading manufacturer of threshing machines and steam engines from 1842 to 1911.

Open Sun 1-4 Jul-Aug or by appointment • 2593 Pleasant View Rd • (765) 966-1262

Rockville

Billie Creek Village

This re-created early 20th-century village is comprised of 38 authentic buildings moved to the site.

Open daily 11-4, Feb 15-Dec 20 • 1 mile east on US 36 • (765) 569-3430

Turkey Run State Park

Still standing in the park is the 1811 home of Salmon Rusk, the original owner of the property.

Call for hours • 9 miles north on SR 47 • (765) 597-2635

Rome City

Gene Stratton Porter State Historic Site

The two story log cabin of novelist Gene Stratton Porter is preserved. The house is surrounded by wood, wildflowers, and wildlife.

Open Tue-Sat 9-5, Sun 1-5, Apr-Nov • 1 mile south on SR 9 • (260) 854-3790

Salem

John Hay Center

The center features a reconstructed pioneer village and the restored home of statesman John Hay. The home is furnished in the 1840s period.

Open Tue-Sun 1-5 • 307 E. Market St. • (812) 883-6495

Terre Haute

Eugene V. Debs Home

The house is a memorial to the labor and Socialist leader.

Open Wed-Sun 1-4:30 • 451 N. Eighth St. • (812) 232-2163

Vigo County Historical Museum

The Victorian Sage-Robison-Nagel house contains a museum with exhibits of antiques and local memborabilia. Displays include recreations of a general store, post office, schoolroom, dress maker's shop, and a Victorian style bedroom, parlor and nursery.

Open Tue-Sun 1-4, Feb-Dec • 1411 S. Sixth St. • (812) 235-9717

Vincennes

Harrison Mansion

Grouseland was built about 1803 by William Henry Harrison, the ninth president of the United States. This was his home when he served as the first governor of the Indiana Territory. Some of the furnishings are original.

Open Mon-Sat 9-5, Sun 11-5, Mar-Dec; Daily 11-4 Jan-Feb • 3 West Scott Street • (812) 882-2096

Wabash

Dr. James Ford Historic Home

The Dr. James Ford Historic Home is a restored 1870s doctor's home and practice. The home opened for the first time during Wabash's celebration of the 125th Anniversary of becoming the First Electrically Lighted City in the World, March 31-April 2, 2005. The grounds also include period gardens, grape arbors, a small orchard, and other plantings inspired by Dr. Ford's letters and horticultural newspaper columns. A limestone barn along the alley, once used for the Fords' horse and carriage, is being restored and will soon be ready for visitors.

Open Sat-Sun, 1-5 • 177 West Hill Street • (260) 563-8686

Winona Lake

Billy Sunday Historic Site Museum

Beautifully preserved 1911 Arts & Crafts style bungalow. The home of baseball player turned evangelist Billy Sunday

Open Tue-Sat, 10-5 • 1101 Park Ave. • (574) 268-0660