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
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Gruenewald Historic House
Anderson,IN 46016
Phone: (765)648-6875
Admission Price:$5,00 each
Hours: by appointment only
This Second Empire Museum House is a trip back to 1890 when local businessman Martin and Christiana Gruenewald reared their 5 children in this three story Mansard roofed home.
Need an Image for ID# 277
The Gruenewald Historic House
Anderson,IN 46016
Phone: (765)648-6875
Admission Price:Call for info
Hours: Tue-Fri 10am-3pm, Apr to Mid-Dec
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.
Aurora
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Hillforest
Aurora,In 47001
Phone: (812)926-0087
Admission Price:Adults $5, Children $3
Hours: Tue-Sun 1-5pm, Apr-Dec
Hillforest, overlooking the Ohio River, was the home of industrialist and financier Thomas Gaff and his family between 1855 and 1891. Shipping and riverboats were significant elements of the Gaff business and are reflected in the architecture of the home. Note the third floor belvedere resembling a pilot house. The style is Italian Renaissance, completely symmetrical and characterized by broad overhangs, ornately carved brackets, arched windows and graceful balconies and porches. Hillforest is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1992.
Berne
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Swiss Heritage Village
Berne,IN 46711
Phone: (260)589-8007
Admission Price: Contact Museum
Hours: Contact Museum
Five buildings moved to the grounds and are in the process of being restored.
Bloomington
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Wylie House Museum
Bloomington,IN 47401
Phone: (812)855-6224
Admission Price: Contact Museum
Hours: Tue-Sat 10am-2pm, Mar-Nov
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 prior to 1860. 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.
Cambridge City
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Huddleston Farmhouse Inn Museum
Cambridge City,IN 47327
Phone: (765)478-3172
Admission Price:Call for info
Hours: Call for info
Owned and restored by Indiana Landmarks, the 1841 Huddleston Farmhouse museum offered visitors a glimpse of the daily lives of John and Susannah Huddleston and their 11 children, as well as the travelers who crowded the porches and yard and rented the farmhouse’s two “travelers’ kitchens” for cooking and sleeping.
Columbia City
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Whitley County Historical Museum
Columbia City ,IN 46725
Phone: (260)244-6372
Admission Price:Free
Hours: Tuesday-Thursday 9 am-5pm; Friday 9am-12pm
We are the home of Vice-President Thomas Riley Marshall. He lived here for over 30 years, while working as a lawyer in Columbia City. He moved in 1908, as being elected Governor of Indiana. He went on to serve one term as Governor, before being elected Vice President (1913-1921). We also interpret the history of Whitley County, including the Miami Indians and their great presence in this area.
Corydon
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Corydon Capitol State Historic Site
Corydon,IN 47112
Phone: (812)738-4890
Admission Price:Adults $3.50, Seniors $3, Children $2
Hours: See their website
Governor Hendrick's Headquarters, the former home of Indiana's second elected governor, is furnished with mid-19th century antiques.
Crawfordsville
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General Lew Wallace Study & Museum
Crawfordsville,IN 47933
Phone: (765)362-5769
Admission Price:See their website
Hours: See their website
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.
Need an Image for ID# 285
Lane Place
Crawfordsville,IN 47933
Phone: (736)362-3416
Admission Price:Adults $3, Children $1
Hours: Wed-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 1-5pm
Lane Place was built for Henry Lane in 1845 in what is now called the Elston Grove Historic District. Lane represented Montgomery County as state representative, U.S. congressman, governor and U.S. senator. His stature as chairman of the National Republican Convention in 1856 helped secure the party’s nomination of Abraham Lincoln for president in 1860.
Elkhart
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Ruthmere
Elkhart,IN 46514
Phone: (574)264-0330
Admission Price:Adults $10, Students $4
Hours: See their website
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.
Evansville
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Reitz Home Museum
Evansville,IN 47713
Phone: (812)426-1871
Admission Price:Adults $7.50, Students $2.50, Children $1.50
Hours: Tue-Sat 11am-3:30pm, Sun 1-3:30pm
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.
Fishers
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Conner Prarie
Fishers,IN 46038
Phone: (317)776-6006
Toll Free: (800)966-1836
Admission Price:See their website
Hours: See their website
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.
Fountain City
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Levi Coffin State Historic Site
Fountain City,IN 47341
Phone: (765)847-2432
Admission Price:Adults $2, Children $1
Hours: See their website
To the thousands of escaped slaves, an eight-room Federal-style brick home in Newport (Fountain City), Indiana, became a safe haven on their journey to Canada. This was the home of Levi and Catharine Coffin, North Carolina Quakers who opposed slavery. During the 20 years they lived in Newport, the Coffins helped more than 2,000 slaves reach safety.
Geneva
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Limberlost State Historic Site
Geneva,IN 46740
Phone: (260)368-7428
Admission Price:Adults $3.50, Seniors $3, Children $2
Hours: Wed-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 1-5pm, Apr to mid-Dec
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.
Greenfield
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James Whitcomb Riley Old Home & Museum
Greenfield,IN 46140
Phone: (317)462-8539
Admission Price:Adults $3.50, Youth $1.25
Hours: Mon-Sat 10am-4pm
The Riley Birthplace and Museum marks where noted Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley was born and lived during his boyhood. The house was built by the author's father Reuben Riley, a local attorney in 1850, and Greenfield's first mayor.
Huntington
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Historic Forks of the Wabash
Huntington,IN 46750
Phone: (260)356-1903
Admission Price:Call for info
Hours: Call for info
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.
Indianapolis
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Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site
Indianapolis,IN 46202
Phone: (317)631-1888
Admission Price:See their website
Hours: See their website
As a successful attorney, Benjamin Harrison purchased a double lot on the west side of North Delaware Street at auction in 1867. In 1874 be began construction of his 16 room Italianate style house, a carriage house, brick drive and landscaping. The cost was $24,818.67. Except for the periods 1881 to 1887, when Harrison was in the US Senate and 1889 to 1893, the presidential years, Benjamin Harrison, his wife Caroline and their two children, Russell and Mary, lived in the Delaware Street home.
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Indianapolis Museum of Art
Indianapolis,IN 46208
Phone: (317)931-1978
Admission Price:See their website
Hours: See their website
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.
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James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home
Indianapolis,IN 46202
Phone: (317)631-5885
Admission Price:Adults $4, Students $
Hours: Tue-Sat 10am-3:30pm
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.
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Morris-Butler House
Indianapolis,IN 46202
Phone: (317)636-5409
Admission Price:Adults $5, Seniors $4, Children $3
Hours: Thu-Sat 10am-3pm Feb-Dec
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.
Jeffersonville
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Howard Steamboat Museum
Jeffersonville,IN 47130
Phone: (812)283-3728
Toll Free: (888)472-0606
Admission Price:Adults $6, Seniors $5, Students $3.50
Hours: Tue-Sat 10am-4pm, Sun 1-4pm
This beautiful 1894 home, built by premier steamboat builders, the Howards of Jeffersonville, features original furnishings, brass chandeliers, stained glass windows, and intricate carvings throughout and even a grand staircase! Master craftsmen from the shipyard created much of the decor in the mansion. Howard built steamboats included the luxurious J.M. White, the speedy City of Louisville and the popular Indiana. Models, photographs, paintings, half-hull models and other artifacts from the Great Steamboat Era abound at this unique Jeffersonville Museum.
Kokomo
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Seiberling Mansion
Kokomo,IN 46901
Phone: (765)452-4314
Admission Price:Adults $4, Children $1
Hours: Tue-Sun 1-4pm
Construction on the Seiberling Mansion began in October 1889 and was completed in the fall of 1891. The house was built for Monroe Seiberling of Akron, Ohio at a cost of $50,000. The architecture of the house is a mixture of Neo-Jacobean (Queen Anne) and Romanesque Revival styles. It was designed by Arthur LaBelle of Marion, Indiana. The mansion includes eight rooms on the first floor, seven on the second, and a grand ballroom on the third floor with an entrance to the rotunda outside. The grand porch overlooks the grounds. Interior woodwork includes ornate design and parquetry of native walnut, oak, maple, cherry, mahogany and butternut. Moorish themes are featured in brass door knobs, plates, hinges, and sash lifts.
Lafayette
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Haan Mansion Museum of Indiana Art
Lafayette,IN 47905
Phone: ()-
Admission Price:See their website
Hours: See their website
The Haan Mansion Museum of Indiana Art is more than a house museum - it is a museum of Indiana art located in an historic mansion that served as the Connecticut Building at the 1904 St Louis Worlds Fair. Parts of the Connecticut building were taken from a 1760 mansion in Norwich CT, so many of the components were hand carved before the Declaration of Independence. The building was dismantled and moved to Lafayette at the close of the fair. The contents include a phenomenal Indiana art collection (including many T C steele paintings), a collection of historic and current Indiana ceramics, and massive American furniture primarily of the 1860-1890 Renaissance Revival period, all housed in an architectural gem. The Museum is only open on a limited basis, so visit the web site for tour dates, times, admission fees, and more information. Our e-mail address is info@haanmuseum.org.
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Moses Fowler House
Lafayette,IN 47901
Phone: (765)476-8411
Admission Price: Contact Museum
Hours: Currently closed for renovation
The Moses Fowler House is a Gothic Revival home built by Moses Fowler in 1851-1852. Fowler, one of the area's leading merchants and cattlemen, was anxious to have a home reflecting his social status. A book entitled Architecture of Country Houses, by A. J. Downing, illustrated popular floor plans of the day and may have served as a guide for the design Fowler selected. His home was built by a local contractor, using native white oak and black walnut woodwork. The ornamental plaster work on the parlor ceilings was done by Italian artisans from New York who traveled to Lafayette via the Wabash and Erie Canal.
Lebanon
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Cragun House
Lebanon,IN 46052
Phone: (765)483-9414
Admission Price:Call for info
Hours: Call for info
The Cragun House construction was completed in 1893, by Strange Nathaniel Cragun. Born in Boone County in 1857, Strange left Boone County for a short time as a young adult, but returned in 1881 to begin a career in education. He served as principal of Whitestown, Zionsville, and Lebanon schools. In 1891, he purchased a local newspaper, the Lebanon Patriot (later to become the Lebanon Reporter), and began a long careeer as a Boone County business and civic leader.
Logansport
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Cass County Historical Society Museum
Logansport,IN 46947
Phone: (574)753-3866
Admission Price: Contact Museum
Hours: Tue-Sat 1-5pm
The museum consists of the 1853 Jerolaman-Long Home, a cabin, a carriage barn, and a schoolroom.
Madison
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Francis Costigan House
Madison,IN 47250
Phone: (812)265-2967
Admission Price:Call for info
Hours: Call for info
Architectural historians consider the Francis Costigan House a masterpiece of nineteenth century design. The house is situated on a narrow city lot measuring only 22 feet in width at 408 West Third Street in the Madison, Indiana Historic District. Costigan built this house in 1850 as his private residence. The brick two-story house is Greek Revival in style and has a portico with two fluted columns capped with Corinthian capitals. The portico is heavily adorned and includes a sliding pocket door entry. The ceiling of the portico is particularly interesting. It is deeply coffered and heavily decorated. The interior of the house has a magnificent drawing room thirty feet long with bow end, twin fireplaces, and a fine, high ceiling with deeply depressed panels, heavily ornamented with egg-and-dart moldings. The house shows Costigan’s characteristically fine woodwork, including both curved and sliding doors and an interesting stepladder staircase with a push gate at the top. This creative use of space reflects Costigan’s skill and ingenuity as an architect to create such an elegant house in a limited space.
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Judge Jeremiah Sullivan House
Madison,IN 47250
Phone: (812)265-2967
Admission Price:Call for info
Hours: Call for info
Built for the Jeremiah Sullivan family in 1818, the house is considered Madison’s first mansion. The two-story brick dwelling exhibits fine delicate tapered reeded columns between the entrance door and sidelights, and an elliptical fanlight above. The interior is furnished in period furnishings.
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Lanier Mansion State Historic Site
Madison,IN 47250
Phone: (812)265-3526
Admission Price:Adults $4, Seniors $3.50, Children $2
Hours: Daily 9am-5pm
James Franklin Doughty Lanier was one of Madison’s pioneers. Lanier’s good fortune in business allowed him to hire Madison architect Francis Costigan to design and build for him the grandest residence ever imagined in Madison. The home was built on the same riverfront property where he had lived with his family since the 1820s. The Lanier Mansion was completed and occupied in 1844. Following the death of his first wife, Elizabeth, in 1846, Lanier married his second wife, Margaret Mary McClure Lanier in 1848, but remained in residence in Madison for only a few more years.
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Shrewsbury House
Madison,IN
Phone: (812)265-4481
Admission Price:Call for info
Hours: Call for info
The Shrewsbury house has twelve rooms, thirteen fireplaces and a fifty-three step spiral staircase. The floor to ceiling windows are thirteen feet tall. A man on horseback could easily step through the enormous front door.
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The Schofield House
Madison,IN
Phone: (812)265-4481
Admission Price:Call for info
Hours: Call for info
Built circa 1816 in the federal style, this is believed to be the first two-storied tavern house in Madison.
Marshall
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Turkey Run State Park
Marshall,IN 47859
Phone: (765)597-2635
Admission Price:See their website
Hours: See their website
Still standing in the park is the 1811 home of Salmon Rusk, the original owner of the property
Michigan City
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Barker Mansion & Civic Center
Michigan City,IN 46360
Phone: (219)873-1520
Admission Price:Adults $4, Children $2
Hours: See their website
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.
Muncie
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Moore -Youse Home Museum
Muncie,IN 47305
Phone: (765)282-1550
Admission Price:See their website
Hours: See their website
The Moore-Youse Home Museum contains numerous artifacts of Historic Muncie, including furnishings, paintings, documents, and photos.
Nashville
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T.C. Steele State Historic Site
Nashville,IN 47448
Phone: (812)988-2785
Admission Price:Adults $3.50, Seniors $3, Children $2
Hours: Tue-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 1-5pm
The T.C. Steele State Historic Site includes the last home and studio of Indiana artist Theodore Clement Steele (1847-1926) and his second wife Selma Neubacher Steele (1870-1945). Steele purchased the land that now comprises the T.C. Steele State Historic Site in early 1907. That spring, he built a home and brought a wife to what became known as the "House of the Singing Winds." Artists from around the country came to visit and to paint with Steele, finding for themselves the area's spectacular beauty. Many stayed and settled to form the famous Brown County Art Colony. The House of the Singing Winds was doubled in size in 1908, and eventually two studio buildings were constructed along with a garage, guest cottages, and other outbuildings. At least two remote painting shacks were built to accommodate Steele's practice of painting outdoors.
New Albany
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Culbertson Mansion State Historic Site
New Albany,IN 47150
Phone: (812)944-9600
Admission Price:Adults $3.50, Seniors $3, Children $2
Hours: Tue-Sat 9-5pm, Sun 1-5pm Apr 1 to Dec 19
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. In 1867, William S. Culbertson spent about $120,000 to build his grand home in New Albany. The three-story French, Second-Empire mansion encompasses more than 20,000 square feet and contains 25 rooms.
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Scribner House
New Albany,IN
Phone: (812)949-1776
Admission Price:See their website
Hours: See their website
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.
New Castle
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Henry County Historical Society Museum
New Castle,In 47362
Phone: (765)529-4028
Admission Price:Call for info
Hours: Call for info
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.
Richmond
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Gaar Mansion and Farm Museum
Richmond,IN 47374
Phone: (765)966-1262
Admission Price:Adults $5, Children $2
Hours: See their website
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.
Rockville
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Billie Creek Village
Rockville,IN 47872
Phone: (765)569-0252
Admission Price:See their website
Hours: See their website
This re-created early 20th-century village is comprised of 38 authentic buildings moved to the site.
Rome City
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Gene Stratton Porter State Historic Site
Rome City,IN 46784
Phone: (206)854-3790
Admission Price:Adults $3.50, Seniors $3, Children $2
Hours: Tue-Sat 10-5pm, Sun 1-5pm Apr 1 to Dec 1
The two story log cabin of novelist Gene Stratton Porter is preserved. The house is surrounded by wood, wildflowers, and wildlife.
Salem
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John Hay Center
Salem,IN 47167
Phone: (812)883-6495
Admission Price:Call for info
Hours: See their website
The center features a reconstructed pioneer village and the restored home of statesman John Hay. The home is furnished in the 1840s period.
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John Hay Center
Salem,IN 47167
Phone: (812)883-6495
Admission Price: Contact Museum
Hours: s
The center features a reconstructed pioneer village and the restored home of statesman John Hay. The home is furnished in the 1840s period.
Terre Haute
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Eugene V. Debs Home
Terre Haute,IN 47807
Phone: (812)232-2163
Admission Price: Contact Museum
Hours: Tue-Sat 1-4:30pm
The house is a memorial to the labor and Socialist leader.
Vincennes
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Grouseland
Vincennes,IN 47591
Phone: (812)882-882
Admission Price:Adults $5, Seniors $4
Hours: See their website
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.
Wabash
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Dr. James Ford Historic Home
Wabash,IN 46992
Phone: (260)563-8686
Admission Price:See their website
Hours: See their website
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.
Winona Lake
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The Billy Sunday Home
Winona Lake,IN 46590
Phone: (574)268-9888
Admission Price:Free
Hours: Tue-Sat 2pm or by appt
The Sunday family home, named "Mount Hood" is a California bungalow furnished in the Arts and Crafts style. The family collection has remained at Winona Lake since the home was built in 1911. The home has been restored to its original 1911 appearance, and it contains the family's original furnishings. Guided tours of the home provide the history of Billy Sunday's ministry across America.