The Abram Gaar House and Farm or known as the Gaar Mansion is a wooden Second Empire-style farm home located in

Richmond, Indiana Richmond is a city in eastern Wayne County, Indiana. Bordering the state of Ohio, it is the county seat of Wayne County and is part of the Dayton, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 36,812. Situa ...

, built in 1876 and listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. The home was built by industrialist Abram Gaar, president of

Gaar-Scott Gaar, Scott & Co., was an American threshing machine and Steam engine, steam traction engine builder founded in 1849 and based in Richmond, Indiana. The company built simple and compound engines in sizes from 10 to 50 horsepower. Agricultural ma ...

and Company, manufacturers of steam engines and threshing machines from 1842 to 1911. Total construction cost of the home was $20,000 it took eight months to build. The house is situated on a rise overlooking the city of Richmond from the north. Gaar hired

John A. Hasecoster John Adam Hasecoster (1844–1925) was an American architect in Indiana. His practice was located in Richmond, Indiana. He designed public buildings as well as residences in the area, some of which have been listed on the National Register of Hist ...

, the area's leading architect of the day to design the house and his original plans drawn on linen sheets are on display at the house today.

Restoration

In the 1970s, Joanna Hill Mikesell, granddaughter of the builder and his wife Agnes restored the home which had remained in her family since it was built. Most of the original fabric of the house remains intact and historic windows, front porch fittings, and interior elements were found in storage on the property and returned to the house during restoration. She established the non-profit Agnes and Abram Gaar Foundation to assume ownership of the house, its contents and a few outbuildings. The Foundation operates the house as a historic house museum.

Collection

The home holds a significant collection of Victorian decorative arts including nearly all the original Eastlake style furnishings, some of which were purchased from the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. Original bills of sale for furniture from Mitchell and Rammelsberg Furniture Company in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, are also part of the collection. in addition to the house and furnishings, the Foundation's collection holds a number of archival items relating to the history of the Gaar-Scott company and the Gaar family.

References

External links

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Reviving the Stenciller's Art in Indiana

The Old-House Journal ''The Old-House Journal'' is an American magazine that specializes in information about the restoration of old houses. Its first issue was published in 1973 in Brooklyn, New York, as a black-and-white, advertising-free newsletter for devotees of ...

, 1978 * Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Victorian architecture in Indiana Buildings and structures in Richmond, Indiana Historic house museums in Indiana Houses completed in 1876 Second Empire architecture in Indiana Museums in Richmond, Indiana National Register of Historic Places in Wayne County, Indiana Houses in Wayne County, Indiana {{Indiana-museum-stub