Culbertson Mansion State Historic Site is located in New Albany, Indiana by the Ohio River. It was the home of William Culbertson, who was once the richest man in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. Built in 1867 at a cost of $120,000, this

Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...

-style mansion has 25-rooms within , and was completed in November 1869. It was designed by James T. Banes, a local architect. Features within the three-story edifice include hand-painted ceilings and walls, frescoed ceilings, carved rosewood-grained staircase,

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

fireplaces, wallpaper of fabric-quality, and crystal chandeliers. The original tin roof was imported from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. The displays within the mansion feature the Culbertson family and the restoration of the building. The rooms on the tour are the formal

parlor A parlour (or parlor) is a reception room or public space. In medieval Christian Europe, the "outer parlour" was the room where the monks or nuns conducted business with those outside the monastery and the "inner parlour" was used for necess ...

s, dining rooms, bedrooms, kitchen, and laundry room. ''Note:'' This includes and Accompanying photographs. In its heyday, a railroad ran behind the house (Culbertson had sold land to the railroad), and a streetcar ran from his house towards downtown New Albany.

History

After Culbertson's death, he willed the home to his third wife, who auctioned off the house and contents in 1899 to John McDonald, also a resident of New Albany, for $7,100. Upon his death, the American Legion obtained it from McDonald's daughter, Mrs. Helen Croxall. The Legion would make extensive changes to the mansion, making it more suitable for a meeting place. After several different owners, in the 1960s the mansion was in danger of being torn down, in order to put in its place a gas station. Instead, a local historic group called Historic New Albany purchased the mansion in 1964 from the American Legion for $24,000.00. It was 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 ...

in 1974 and became a part of the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites in 1976. Culbertson Haunted 1

In 1985 the tradition of having a

haunted house A haunted house, spook house or ghost house in ghostlore is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were otherwise connected with the prope ...

started, and for the first two years the Mansion itself was used, using 10 people to acquire $500 as part of a Spook Run. Starting in 1987, the Carriage House of the Mansion has served as the haunted house. Today, the Haunted House requires 100 volunteers. The Culbertson Mansion performs historic restoration rather than renovation to protect the historical integrity of the home. The eventual goal is to return the mansion to its 1869 appearance, barring necessary newer items such as electricity and bathrooms. It is open for daily tours, Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Funds for restoration are raised by a non-profit group called The Friends of Culbertson Mansion, Inc., as well as the staff of the mansion itself. The Friends not only operate the Haunted House, but hold an herb sale annually in May.

Gallery

File:Culbertson carriage barn.JPG, Carriage barn File:Culbertson back entrance.JPG, Back entrance to the Mansion

References

Sources

* ''My Indiana:101 Places to See'', by Earl L. Conn (

Indiana Historical Society The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) is one of the United States' oldest and largest historical societies and describes itself as "Indiana's Storyteller". It is housed in the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center at 450 West Ohio Street ...

Press, 2006). pg.208-9 * Kobrowski, Nicole ''Encyclopedia of Haunted Indiana'' 2008

Citations

External links