Reitz Home Museum

The Reitz Home Museum is an opulent Victorian mansion on First Street near the riverfront, built in 1871 by lumber magnate John Augustus Reitz. The French Second Empire structure with its mansard roof is one of the finest surviving examples of high-Victorian domestic architecture in Indiana, and the interior is remarkable: the woodwork, including hand-carved mahogany staircases and walnut panelling, was produced to showcase the quality of timber from Reitz's mills.

The house has been a museum since 1954 and is maintained by a non-profit foundation. Guided tours cover all three stories and the ornate basement ballroom. The period furnishings include original Reitz family pieces alongside appropriately chosen additions. For anyone interested in the Gilded Age economy of the Ohio Valley or in Victorian decorative arts, this is an exceptional visit. Tours run most days; check the schedule before visiting.

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A story
John Augustus Reitz built this French Second Empire mansion in 1871 as a demonstration of wealth from his lumber business — Evansville was a major hardwood processing centre in the post-Civil War era, and Reitz was one of its most successful operators. The house is furnished throughout with original and period-appropriate pieces, and the quality of the woodwork inside — mahogany, walnut, and cherry from his own mills — is extraordinary.