hearthstone historic house museum

I've taken both my immediate and extended families here on a number of occasions, once for the house tour and once for the Halloween event with the kids. Everyone came away with a better appreciation of what it meant to be privileged in Appleton around the turn of the century and no one was openly disappointed, though the young ones can get bored quickly... nothing new there. Also, the halloween event is not meant to emulate any of the gruesome haunted attractions you can visit these days, but is much more subtle and kid-friendly, in other words, tasteful.This is also the only place I know of which is able to actively demonstrate to visitors what the first moments of electricity must have felt like by throwing the switch on the original lamps and lighting components, an experience well worth the admission price. If you're into that element of history, no pun intended, than the modest basement museum's 'history of hydro-electric power' interactive displays are also worth your time, meager as they may be. The kids love to jump on the bike and cycle up the generator to see how many Edison lamps they can power on.Personally, I'd advise visitors to any one of our fine niche attractions in the Valley to set their expectation level for the community they are in. The Fox Valley has a great array of smallish museums that can stand on their own merit, but when combined, rival experiences in major metro areas. Not only do they showcase this first house in the midwest powered with hydro-electricity, but also have a Paperweight museum at the Bergstrom-Mahler, great Houdini and Edna Ferber exhibits (though showing their age) at the History Museum at the Castle, quite possibly the world's smallest (and free) museum at the Bridge Tower Museum in Menasha, hands-on and history of paper-making at the Paper Discovery Center at Atlas Mills, one of the nicest anthropological and geological exhibits (and planetarium) at the Weis Earth Science Museum, and many fine art exhibits at the Wriston Galleries on the Lawrence Campus or the Trout Museum of Art. Any one of these are worth the time, but couple a few together and Appleton becomes a worthy weekend destination!

I have lived here my entire life and just recently visited Hearthstone. Different inside than I always imagined driving by. It's cool hearing some of the history of our city. Victorian all the way! The tour guide was very informative and took time to answer any questions we had. We learned about the family that had the house built and what happened to them. We could take quite a bit of time checking everything out before having to move on. That was nice because there is so much detail to see. At the end of the tour you can go into the basement and try out games or inventions of that period. Plus there are souvenirs.

I went there last month with my family. We walk through the house and found it very interesting. The history of the important house is so fascinating. The furniture and decor was very historically accurate. I wish we could have seen more of the rooms other than just looking through the door.

Although I was born and raised in Appleton I had never been to the Hearthstone so when my granddaughter was with us for a few days over vacation we took a break from shopping to tour the museum. We all enjoyed the tour, the docent was very knowledgeable and knowing the mansion is maintained by all volunteers is amazing. The Xmas trees and decorations were beautiful. The hands on activities in the basement were interesting. We spent two hours there.

It is a significant historic building, being the first powered by hydroelectric. Beyond that it is a gorgeous 1800's home, with period correct furnishings. The docents were very knowledgeable. It is especially beautiful decorated for the holidays. Photography is allowed. It is not handicapped friendly.

This was a home built by a weathy family in the 1800's. The first to have hydro electric lights in the home. I was the for a Christmas Tea, which was wonderful and very authentic. I would recommend going for Christmas, the decorations are fantastic and the guides are in period clothing.

We visited first thing in the morning and were the first and only visitors at the time. The staff was very friendly and knowledgable. We got a thorough tour of the house, had plenty of time to view and ask questions. we really enjoyed the basement museum with plenty of time to view and explore. We are both history lovers and have been using retirement to explore Wisconsin. This was a great site.

The connection to early Appleton is interesting. The docents are well informed. My favorite part is the interactive displays in the basement. You can create electricity by riding a bicycle!

My friend loves historic houses and mansions so when I read about this one I immediately put it on our itinerary. We were not disappointed, in fact we couldn't believe that it was not more well know. Our volunteer guide was wonderful. You could tell, by the way she shared the history and legends of the place, that she truly loved the opportunity to spread the word about this gem in their city.

The house and its history are quite interesting, but the tour itself could improve. Volunteers are great for free labor, but a bit more training for historic accuracy and tour-giving skills would help.

Our docent was very, very knowledeable about the house down to the last detail which made the house more interesting. I found it very interesting that the original owner of the house was swindled by the lead character in the Devil and the White City and lost the bulk of his fortune as a result.Fun exhibits to play with in the basement when you're done.

Beautiful Victorian home built in the 1800's. The wood inside is incredible, from the floors to the detailed carvings. The docent was very knowledgeable and gives a great tour. The cost is only $7 for adults and it is a bargain. The basement is a hands on museum and includes a video and a Victorian bike that you can ride to light up the bulbs. Great place for history buffs and those that love old houses.The outside needs work and could use some generous person/business to help preserve this beautiful local gem.

I loved everything about this tour and I've been on it more than once!So worth the time to stop and bring the kids along as they have some wonderful things for little people to learn as well as the big people in their lives.For anyone who likes the Victorian era or decorating... this is a major treat! Go, spend the day walking through and hearing the story of why this house exists, the man who had it built, and the uniqueness that only it has for the greater Appleton area.

My wife and I were on a fast-paced schedule (we visited several museums in one day because of our ASTC membership). We saw this place and walked around the perimeter and took some photos (no photography allowed inside).

Not much to add - you'll see rooms on two (of the three) floors of the house. Our tour guide presented things in a relaxed, conversational way. There are things about the house that the Friends organization just does not know, so they say so rather than making up some hokey story. Highlight for us (as for many) was the amazing woodcarving, mostly by a Dutch kid who was only 20 years old at the time.