The most remarkable house museums in Cincinnati

A historic house museum is a museum that was once a private residence and is at least 50 years old. They also typically feature period furnishings. Greater Cincinnati is a history-rich region that has many of these gems. Here are some of the most salient.

Museum hours and costs can change at any time, so call or visit the website before visiting.

Taft Museum of Art

316 Pike St., Downtown, taftmuseum.org.

Martin Baum built the house around 1820. Charles and Anna Taft eventually moved into the home and lived there until their deaths. William Howard Taft, Charles Taft’s half-brother, accepted the Republican nomination for United States president in front of this house in 1908. The Taft family bequeathed their historic home and private collection of 600 artworks to the people of Cincinnati in 1927, and the Taft Museum of Art premiered in 1932.

• Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday-Sunday.

• Admission: $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, and free for guests under age 18, members and military members with ID. Sundays and Mondays are also free.

Hillforest House Museum

213 Fifth St., Aurora, hillforest.org.

Hillforest Victorian House Museum is a stately 1855 Italian Renaissance mansion close to the river and the downtown historic district. Industrialist and financier Thomas Gaff and his family lived there between 1855 and 1926. The mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1992. Hillforest is open from April 1 through Dec. 30.

• Hours: Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.

• Admission: $10 for ages 14 and up, $4 for ages 7 to 13, and free for ages 6 and under.

Veraestau Historic Site

4696 Veraestau Lane, Aurora, facebook.com/Veraestau.

Jesse Holman constructed the house at Veraestau in 1810 as a private residence. Nowadays, the site hosts tours, parties and meetings.

• Hours: Tours are available by appointment.

• Admission: $5 for non-members, $4 per person for groups of 25 or more, and free for members of Indiana Landmarks.

Alverta Green Museum

207 W. Church St., Mason, masonhistoricalsociety.org/alverta-green-museum.html.

The Alverta Green Museum is a historic home constructed in 1890. It was named after Alverta Bedacht Green, a local antique dealer and longtime resident who bequeathed her house to the Mason Historical Society in January 1987.

• Hours: Open from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. every Thursday and by appointment.

• Admission: Free.

Christian Waldschmidt Homestead Museum

7567 Glendale Milford Road, Camp Dennison, www.ohiodar.org/waldindex.html.

Christian Waldschmidt, a veteran of the American Revolution, completed the construction of his homestead in 1804. The house became a museum in 1953. Christian Waldschmidt Homestead’s main house is considered one of the best examples of Pennsylvania Dutch architecture west of the Alleghenies.

• Hours: Open from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. every Thursday and by appointment.

• Admission: $8 for adults, $6 for seniors, $4 for students, and free for veterans, active duty military and Daughters of the American Revolution members.

Harriet Beecher Stowe House

2950 Gilbert Ave., Walnut Hills, stowehousecincy.org.

Lane Seminary built what is now called the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in 1832. The house was Harriet Beecher’s home before she married Calvin Stowe in 1836. Harriet Beecher Stowe is famous for writing the best-selling book of its time, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” published in 1852. The house museum provides tours and education. Interior tours are currently on hold because of restoration work but will resume in 2024.

• Hours: Vary each season. Last season, guided tours were offered Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.

• Admission: $6 for adults, $5 for seniors and college students, and $3 for ages 6 to 17.

Historic Hunt House

4364 Hunt Road, Blue Ash, blueashhistoricalsociety.org/hunt-house.

John Craig Hunt built the Historic Hunt House approximately between the years 1857 and 1861 in the Federal/Greek revival styles of architecture. The City of Blue Ash purchased the house in 2003 and restored its original appearance.

• Hours: Hours vary. There are open houses, usually every two months. They are typically on Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. People can schedule group tours. Call 513-745-8550 to inquire or schedule a visit.

• Admission: Free.

Lane-Hooven House

319 N. Third St., Hamilton, hamiltonfoundation.org.

James Elrick, a Hamilton builder, built the Lane-Hooven House in 1863 for Clark Lane, a Hamilton industrialist and philanthropist. The Hamilton Community Foundation took ownership of the house in 1951.

• Hours: Self-guided tours are available by appointment only. The available times are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Contact the foundation at 513-863-1717 to schedule an appointment.

• Admission: Free.

Museum of Spiritual Art & Fine Art Gallery

318 S. River St., Franklin, 937-557-3444, spiritualitycircle.com.

Henry C. Storms, a riverboat captain, built this mansion in 1848. It officially became the Museum of Spiritual Art & Fine Art Gallery in 2015. The museum showcases fine artwork that depicts various religious activities and practices. It features exhibits that honor people such as Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi and others.

• Hours: The museum is open by appointment only. Call 937-557-3444 to schedule a visit.

• Admission: $15 per person ages 18 and older.

Promont House

906 Main St., Milford, milfordhistory.net.

The Promont House is a Victorian mansion that was built in 1867 and is the former home of John M. Pattison, Ohio’s 43rd Governor. It is now a museum and houses a reference library and a gift shop.

• Hours: The museum is typically open every first, third, and fifth Sunday of each month from 1 to 4 p.m. Docent-led and private tours are available. Call 513-248-0324 from Monday to Thursday between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to schedule a visit.

• Admission: $5 per person and free for children under 12.

Taft Family House

2038 Auburn Ave., Mount Auburn, nps.gov/thingstodo/tour-taft-house.htm.

William Howard Taft was born and raised at the Taft Family House, which was constructed in 1840. The Taft Family House celebrates the history and legacy of the only person to be both President of the United States and Chief Justice of the United States. They offer 20-minute guided tours of the home every half hour starting at 9 a.m., with the last one being at 4 p.m.

• Hours: Open every day from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., except on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

• Admission: Free.

The Null House

544 Heatherwoode Circle, Springboro, 937-748-0916, springboroareahistory.org.

The Null House, built in 1798, is the oldest still-standing home in Warren County.

• Hours: The museum is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays in April and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays from May through the weekend before Thanksgiving in November.

• Admission: Free.

Behringer-Crawford Museum

1600 Montague Road, Covington, bcmuseum.org.

The Devou family built the house now known as the Behringer-Crawford Museum in the late 1880s. The Behringer-Crawford Museum teaches Northern Kentucky history through the lens of transportation: rails, roads, rivers and runways. The Behringer-Crawford Museum premiered on July 5, 1950.

• Hours: Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.

• Admission: $9 for ages 18 to 59, $8 for ages 60 and up, and $5 for ages 3 to 17.

Dinsmore Homestead

5656 Burlington Pike, Burlington, 859-586-6117, dinsmorefarm.org.

John Brady constructed the Dinsmore Homestead’s main house in 1842. The Dinsmore Homestead was home to six generations of the Dinsmore family. Martha Ferguson Breasted, a sixth-generation Dinsmore, gave the house and 30 acres to the Dinsmore Homestead Foundation as a museum in 1988. Guests can see the main house, several outbuildings and the graveyard. The museum tells the story of the Dinsmore family, enslaved and free African Americans, and tenants.

• Hours: Friday through Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.

• Admission: $10 for adults and $3 for children ages 5 to 15.

The Rosemary Clooney House

106 E. Riverside Drive, Augusta, rosemaryclooney.org.

Rosemary Clooney purchased what is now the Rosemary Clooney House Museum in 1980 to be close to her brother Nick Clooney. The house was built circa 1830. This museum celebrates the life and legacy of Rosemary Clooney and features costumes, artifacts and memorabilia from each of her movies.

• Hours: April 1 to Nov. 1 on Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• Admission: $5

Vent Haven Museum

33 W. Maple Ave., Fort Mitchell, venthaven.org.

Vent Haven Museum is a museum dedicated to ventriloquism. The house was built circa 1915. William Shakespeare Berger founded the museum at his residence in 1973. This museum houses 1,012 ventriloquial figures, more commonly referred to as dummies, from the 19th through 21st centuries. It is also home to over 10,000 pictures of ventriloquists, a few who are celebrities, and their puppets. Johnny Carson, Don Knotts and Don Messick are some of the more famous ventriloquists featured.

• Hours: By appointment only.

• Admission: $15.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: The most remarkable house museums in Greater Cincinnati