We try to keep this list of historic house museums for Ohio 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 not in our list, please submit it.
If you are the director of a museum in our listings and you would like to claim your listing so you are able to maintain your listing yourself, please email us at info@vpa.org and we will set you up.
Governor Seay served as second Territorial Governor of Oklahoma from 1892 to 1893, built the three-story mansion named "Horizon Hill"" for approximately $11 Read More
Adena was the 2000-acre estate of Thomas Worthington (1773-1827), sixth governor of Ohio and one of the state's first United States Senators. The mansion house, completed in 1806-1807, has been restored to look much as it did when the Worthington family lived there, including many original Worthington family furnishings. Read More
Located in the Benninghofen House, the museum displays Victorian furnishings. Read More
A recreated 19th century town using rebuilt and restored structures including the 1807 Levi Lukens house, the only building original to the site. Read More
Farm life in the 1880s comes alive at Carriage Hill MetroPark. Visitor Center exhibits start the journey back in time while demonstrations, reconstructed and historical buildings, and even period farm animals paint the picture. There are also acres of natural beauty to enjoy and a horseback riding center. Read More
Century Village Museum is an authentic representation of a Western Reserve Village from 1798 to the end of the 19th century. The Museum contains over twenty historically authentic buildings, more than 15,000 museum artifacts, and a working farm with a sugar bush for making maple syrup. Read More
Built in 1895, the Chickasaw White House was the home of Chickasaw governor Douglas H. Johnston. Elected governor of the Chickasaw Nation in 1898, Governor Johnston became an important political figure during the transition from Indian Territory to Oklahoma Statehood in 1907. His political service lasted for 40 years and during that time, the Chickasaw White House served as… Read More
In 1794, Christian Waldschmidt, a veteran of the American Revolution, moved his family to a site on the Little Miami River and built a new community called New Germany. In 1804, he built his home, which included a store. Waldschmidt was a businessman and encouraged new settlement, staffing a church and helping to found a school, and beginning industries… Read More
Formerly the home of Eleutherus Cooke, this 1840's stone and brick home was moved to its current location in 1874. Sandusky's first lawyer, Cooke was also a politician serving in the Ohio Legislature and U.S. Congress. Read More
On the grounds of the Dawes Arboretum, the house was the home of the founders Beman and Bertie Dawes. It contains original furnishings. Read More
The Reese-Peters House was built in 1835 for William James Reese and his wife, Mary Elisabeth Sherman. Reese, a native of Philadelphia, was a well-educated man, graduating from the University of Pennsylvania’s law school in 1822. Mary Elisabeth was the eldest sister of General William T. Sherman and Senator John Sherman, who would both find fame later in the… Read More
The Follett House Museum is home to an outstanding local history collection, documenting the history of the city of Sandusky and Erie County. The mission of this branch of the Library is to collect, preserve, and share with citizens, scholars, and researchers the special collection of artifacts for the interpretation of the history of the city of Sandusky and… Read More
The Franklin House, designed by Frank Packard, was built in 1907 and donated to the Ross County Historical Society in 1972. The house is dedicated to preserving the history of women in Ross County and features changing exhibits of nineteenth and twentieth century clothing and accessories, coverlets, quilts and linens and furniture as well as other household items. A… Read More
After the death of famous broadcaster Lowell Thomas, Mr. & Mrs. H.C. McClain purchased the birthplace of Lowell Thomas and presented it to the Darke County Historical Society. The two story Victorian Gothic style house was built in the 1880's. It was moved from its original site in Woodington, Ohio, which is just a few miles north of Greenville,… Read More
The 1832 Federal style home displays period furnishings and a doll and toy collection. Read More
Located on a hill overlooking downtown Lebanon, Glendower is one of the finest examples of residential Greek Revival architecture found in Ohio. This historic mansion was erected in 1845 and was given the name “Glendower” by its original owner, John Milton Williams, to honor the Welsh prince and hero Owen Glendower. The house has had other illustrious owners, most… Read More
The museum is in a restored Victorian. Next to the museum is the James Galloway Log House, built in 1799. It has survived a dismantling and re-creation in 1936, and the tornado of 1974. Read More
An outdoor living history museum featuring life and crafts from the mid-1800s. It includes farm animals, pastures, gardens, and historic houses with historical interpreters dressed in period costume. Read More
Hanby House is the former home of William and Ann (Miller) Hanby. Built in 1846 at the corner of Main and Grove Streets, the Hanby family occupied the house from 1853-1870. It has been moved twice, most recently during the 1930s, to its present site which is just one block west of the original location. Read More
The Victorian mansion features decorative glass and rich carvings in cherry and oak. Read More
It was from this home that Warren Harding conducted his "Front Porch Campaign" in the 1920 presidential election. From wallpaper to gaslight fixtures and original furnishings, the home is authentically restored. Read More
This Colonial Revival mansion was built by Clarence and Lily Harding and is located in Franklin’s Historic Mackinaw District. The Harding family continuously resided here until the late Major General Edwin Forrest Harding (1886-1970) and his wife Eleanor willed the property to the Franklin Area Historical Society to serve as a local museum. The Harding Museum contains numerous exhibits,… Read More
The Harriet Beecher Stowe House is operated as an historical and cultural site, focusing on Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. The site also includes a look into the family, friends, and colleagues of the Beecher-Stowe family, Lane Seminary, and the abolitionist, rights and Underground Railroad movements in which these historical figures participated in the 1830's to… Read More
The Rutherford B. Hayes Home is a 31-room mansion and centerpiece of the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center in Fremont, Ohio. Rutherford B. Hayes' uncle and guardian, Sardis Birchard, constructed the original portion of the home between 1859 and 1863 as a summer home he could share with his nephew and young family. Construction took five years because materials… Read More
Historic Lyme Village depicts life in the Firelands from the arrival of the first settlers, in the early 1800’s, to the early 1900’s. Among the buildings in the village is the John Wright Mansion. This Second Empire Victorian Home was build between 1880 and 1882 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The John Seymour House,… Read More
Your tour of the Mattie Beal Home will transport you back in time to the dynamic early years of the 20th century when both Oklahoma and the city of Lawton were born. In 1901 a spunky, gregarious young Kansas woman, Mattie Beal, registered for the Oklahoma land lottery. Mattie Beal was the second name drawn for the Lawton district… Read More
The Hoover Historical Center is the Victorian boyhood home of Hoover Company founder, William H. Hoover. The Center is located inside Walsh University's Hoover Park in North Canton (originally called New Berlin) on original Hoover family farmland. Guided tours begin in a modest 1840s building that served as home for the Hoover family in 1852 until they constructed their… Read More
Hower House is a Second Empire Italianate structure, built in 1871 by Akron Industrialist, John Henry Hower and his wife, Susan Youngker Hower. Read More
The 17 room Victorian home, topped by a third floor ballroom, has been carefully restored by the Society to its original turn-of-the-century splendor and features the unique treasures of the original furniture and antiques that were the property of Mr. and Mrs. Jeremiah E. Reeves, arranged as they would have been 100 years ago. These beautiful family furnishings can… Read More
The Kelso House Museum is a group of historical buildings and features located on the grounds of the Brimfield Historical Society. Read More
The Lane Hooven House was built in 1863 for Clark Lane, a Hamilton Industrialist and often thought of Hamilton’s first philanthropist, by James Elrick, Hamilton builder. The house,which because of its octagonal shape is widely regarded as Hamilton’s most unique residential structure, was sometimes called Lane’s Folly. Construction began in 1863 and took 11 months from commencement to completion.… Read More
The restored home of James Garfield, 20th president of the United States. The 30 room house contains original furnishings and many of Garfield's belongings. A small building at the corner of the house was used as his campaign headquarters. A carriage house contains five period carriages. Read More
The society runs three houses. The 1835 Buckingham House is open for private functions. The 1815 Sherwood-Davidson House is of Federal style and displays period furnishings. The 1907 Webb House, stresses the early years of the 20th century through furniture and heirlooms. Read More
Malabar Farm State Park offers a variety of activities, including tours of the big house, hiking, wagon tours, and a program of special events in the rich, green surroundings so beloved by Bromfield. Read More
About 1837, Daniel McCook erected this large brick house on the southwest corner of the public square in Carrollton, and it was occupied by his family until 1848. It was acquired by the state of Ohio in November 1941 and dedicated on October 10, 1947, as a memorial to the gallant “Fighting McCooks.” Read More
This historic house museum provides a glimpse into the multi-generational lives of Dayton’s influential Patterson family, who lived on the site from 1804 to 1904. The Federal style house, which was constructed in three major components between 1810 and 1850, was originally the home of Revolutionary War veteran Colonel Robert Patterson and his wife, Elizabeth Lindsay Patterson. Read More
This brick house was the final home of the poet Paul Laurence Dunbar. In it may be seen many of his personal items and the furnishings among which he lived. During his short lifetime he was known as the poet laureate of black Americans. Read More
Completed in 1837, the Perkins Stone Mansion was built by Colonel Simon Perkins, son of Akron's founder General Simon Perkins. As one of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in Ohio, the Mansion is now a historical house museum whose objects and rooms not only bring to life the Perkins family's lifestyles over three generations, but interpret the… Read More
Italianate mansion built in 1865 by William McGrew. Former home of John Pattison, 43rd Governor of Ohio. Beautifully restored to the late Victorian era. Exhibits change througout the year. On-site research and reference library. Read More
The Avery-Downer House and Robbins Hunter Museum is a historic house museum furnished with 18th and 19th century decorative arts acquired by the original owners, as well as collectors tied to the house over its long history. It was completed in 1842, with additions in 1875, 1930, and finally during Robbins Hunter's occupancy from 1956 to 1979. The house… Read More
Restored buildings house a potter, blacksmith, spinner, weaver, cooper, broommaker, glassblower, and tinsmith, all at work dressed in period costumes. An 1860 homestead with a furnished farmhouse, a barn full of animals and a summer kitchen are on the grounds. Read More
The Saxton-McKinley house is a two and three story brick building of irregular massing. It was constructed in two segments, in 1841, and ca. 1865. The earliest portion is at the rear of the structure and was a two-story gable roofed building. This is significant as the only residence with direct historical ties to President William McKinley remaining in… Read More
The Moravian church founded Schoenbrunn ("beautiful spring") in 1772 as a mission to the Delaware Indians. The settlement grew to include sixty dwellings and more than 300 inhabitants who drew up Ohio's first civil code and built its first Christian church and schoolhouse. Read More
The Sherman House Museum in Lancaster, Ohio is the birthplace of General William Tecumseh Sherman, his younger brother U.S. Senator John Sherman and home of the remarkable Sherman family. The original frame home built in 1811 consists of a parlor/dining room, kitchen, master bedroom and children's bedroom. The Sherman family added onto the house in 1816, including a parlor… Read More
The gothic revival farmhouse was built in 1856 and restored by Metro Parks for authenticity. Guests can tour the living room, parlor and kitchen and watch the ladies prepare the meals and tend the house. The multi-bay barn was built by Samuel Oman, the fourth owner of Slate Run Farm, and restored by Amish carpenters. Read More
This home was built about 1821 and was a stop on the underground railroad. The grounds include herb and flower gardens, a smokehouse, springhouse, and other outbuildings. Read More
Built between 1912 and 1915, Stan Hywet Hall was one of the finest examples of the American Country Estate movement, which flourished during the Industrial Age. Unlike European country houses that were created by generations of title and wealth, the American Country Estates were built by the wealth of self-made industry giants. Vanderbilt’s Biltmore, Rockefeller’s Kykuit, and Hearst’s San… Read More
The Baum-Longworth-Sinton-Taft House, a National Historic Landmark built about 1820 for Martin Baum, is the oldest domestic wooden structure in situ locally and is considered one of the finest examples of Federal architecture in the Palladian style in the country. Read More
The Rankin House is a National Historic Landmark and Underground Railroad Station. The Rankin House, located on Liberty Hill which overlooks the Ohio River and Ripley, is one of the better known sites which assisted in the Underground Railroad efforts. Read More
Built in 1876 by C. C. Thompson, the home is maintained not as a museum but as a "lived" in home to represent it's Victorian heritage and grandeur. Features include, 15' ceilings, original mantels, chandeliers, elaborate period furnishings and a continuous stairwell that ends at the third floor. A tower that oversees the Ohio Rivers sits above the third… Read More
Listed on the National Register of Historic places, Thurber House was the home of author, humorist, and New Yorker cartoonist James Thurber and his family when Thurber was a student at The Ohio State University. Thurber House opened in 1984 as a non-profit literary center and museum of Thurber materials. Read More
A 28 room Queen Anne built in 1902 is furnished in period. Highlights include parquet floors, elegant window treatments, hand-painted ceilings, a third floor ballroom, 1920s steambath and summer kitchen. Read More
Constructed between 1815 and 1817 by War of 1812 General Reasin Beall, the house is the oldest surviving residential structure in Wooster Read More
Built between 1908-1911, this Italian Renaissance Revival home sits proudly in University Circle as a part of the Western Reserve Historical Society. Tours of the interior rooms, including both family and staff areas are available as well as the garden during the warmer months. Though the home has many beautiful qualities, one of its highlights is the breathtaking hand-carved… Read More
The Wildwood Manor House is a Toledo icon and the centerpiece of the beautiful estate grounds now known as Wildwood Preserve Metropark. The Georgian Colonial home is open for free tours and hosts a variety of cultural and historical events, including the popular Tea in the Solarium. Read More
Birthplace and boyhood home of the 27th president. The Greek Revival brick home has four rooms furnished in period. Other rooms have exhibits depicting the Taft family. Read More
The grounds include the 1836 Federal style home of James and Mary Wolcott, along with a log cabin, and 1840s saltbox farmhouse, a 19th century church and the Toledo and Grand Rapids Railroad depot. The Wolcott house displays antique furnishings. Read More
The Wyandot County Museum is located in Upper Sandusky, Ohio. This historic home was built in 1852 for the Beery family. The home was later occupied by one of the Beery daughters, Leefe (Beery) McConnell and her family. The home was donated to the Wyandot County Historical Society by the McConnell family and opened as a museum in 1962.… Read More
The village was founded in 1817 by German immigrants. Number One House, the home of leader Joseph Bimeler, a bakery, tin shop, wagon shed, general store, blacksmith shop, and garden house are restored. Read More