Reviews of Hearthstone Historic House Museum (Tourist Attraction)

Brenda Eisch

Beautiful

R E

Wonderful. Tour was engaging and interesting. Guide was enthusiastic and had a true passion for the history of the house. So glad I decided to stop in for the tour. If you're undecided and think it may be a boring tour of an old house, you are definitely mistaken, and you must go. Museum has something intriguing for everyone.

Janine Micke

Went for the Victorian Christmas. Wow, wow wow. We said that a lot. I actually grew up three blocks from this house and must have went by it thousands of times. I have never been inside. I picked a perfect time to see the interior with it all decorated for the Victorian Christmas. I would suggest you go closer to the start time as we had an hour and we ran out of time.

E.

Fun experience doing a Halloween 'murderer' tour featuring HH Holmes as the serial killer of the night! Gorgeous restored Mansion home; would love to go again!

Jason Elhke

Very interesting place, I learned a lot would recommend to anyone look for some adventure.

Donna Anacker

Our docent was very knowledgeable and entertaining. The house was restored beautifully and decorated very authentically. Thank you George for a great tour!

Jeff Brosnan

Very cool and interesting historic house!

Michael Nellis

Great back story

Adam Strick

Plenty of history, authentic architecture and furniture, knowledgeable guides and time well spent! Absolutely recommend to anyone considering a visit!

James Wallin

What a great place to get a better understanding of living in the past. Especially when electricity was something more of a novelty than an everyday part of life. There's a great hands on experience in the basement, especially for children. Highly recommend this.

Patty Block

What an amazing place to learn history tonight here in Appleton!

Mark Roe

The evening Christmas event was awesome. My entire family had a wonderful time.

Monica Amberg

Our tour was given by the director, and not only was he very knowledgeable about the house and the history surrounding it, he was also very excited and enthusiastic about the information in a way that was contagious. He was also able to answer any of the questions we had along the way. The lady at the desk was very friendly and welcoming while we waited for our tour to start. The house is absolutely beautiful and kept in great condition. We were able to see one of the restoration projects they currently have going on, and heard about the process of it, and why they were going to do certain things the way they were. Definitely worth a stop, and definitely looking forward to going back.

Sue-Ellen Haas

A beautifully restored home from the 1800s. The attention to detail in the restoration as well as the original building is phenomenal. The guys are very knowledgeable and very friendly. This was well worth the time in money and I would recommend it to anyone who has an appreciation for electricity, history, antiques, beautiful homes and historical homes.

R K

Interesting history and well done.

Joan Woldt

Very interesting

Kathy Beaulieu

Very informative tour and the home is beautiful. It is worth while seeing.

sue she

Guided tour was very informative and interesting. Beautiful home.

Cindy m

Very nice tour, knowledgeable tour guide. Beautiful home!

Toni Carey

Enjoyed the tour. Beautiful house work knowledgeable staff who love it.

sumone udono

Super detailed, fascinating tour. Absolutely beautiful museum. Still in the process of being restored, so don't be shy about letting them keep the change after you pay the $8 entry fee. Staff is all volunteer, and their live and respect for history is glowingly obvious. At least 1 of the volunteers is from one of the families who owned and lived in the house. The community's appreciation for the foundation's work to save the house is also evident; almost none if the furnishings are original to the house. All of the incredibly valuable filler pieces were either donated or sold to them at below cost. Truly a magnificent way to spend a few hours!

AJ Dolata

This IS the history of Appleton and the world!

Danae Fuller

Very interesting historical museum. Would have preferred being able to self-guide through the facility, but the facilities are very well maintained and restored.

Jim Heinzelman

The Hearthstone House in Appleton, WI is located on the bank of the Fox River. Built in the late 1800's and lays claim to being the first residence to have electric lights generated by hydroelectric power. Tucked away off the downtown area you might drive by and not know its significance. Your modest admission cost includes a tour of the property which is something you want to take time to do. We had a very pleasant docent named Christine that has been volunteering for 19 years. The house surprisingly has been occupied as a residence and modified somewhat as a restaurant until 1987. Now a museum piece with period correct furnishings, corrected kitchen and design as close to original as possible. Extremely high value find and worth both the time and money to visit and enjoy.

Tanner Mann

Fun experience and lots of interesting history. Will be back!

Eric Bieniewski

Drive past it a hundred times and always wanted to check it out. Went for the "historic murderers" event. Was very interesting. Will definitely go back.

Connie Mitchler

The people were awesome. Beautiful house.

Brian Kivi

Beautiful old Victorian home. Went for the Halloween scare tour. For 15 dollars an adult it was well worth it. If u love history it is a must see. Regular daytime rates are only 6 dollars. We will be going back.

Trina Barnett

Great experience. Tour guide was wonderful.

Beth Kempen

A awesome historical place to visit when in Appleton

Joe Seabee

We learned a lot and had a very nice tour guide....will be back...beautiful place

Merl Meitner

A must see..great tour guide...great value....

Allen Medvers

Really enjoyed the Appleton history and kind people.

Yasaman Babalou

This historic beautiful house is a gem in Appleton. We enjoyed the informative wonderful guided tour, and we had an authentic experience visiting this house.

Tycho Aussie

The Hearthstone preservation society is full of passionate history buffs who have preserved a nice old mansion with a unique place in history: that of being the first private residence in the world to feature electricity. It's a neat home with exquisite woodwork throughout, and of course Thomas Edison light switches and other electrical bits. Note that it has limited hours of operation, opening Thursday through Sunday.

Gwen Hinzman Sargeant

Beautiful, not too miss Historic House Museum. Christmas is a special time to visit. Each room is it's own magic of Christmas. It's electrical history is a National treasure.

Nathan Flaminio

Beautiful home with fantastic craftsmanship. We spent about an hour on the tour with one of the sons that used to live there. It's awesome that a home in Wisconsin was the first to be powered by electricity, have central heat, and indoor plumbing in the entire country. Worth a visit to learn a little history (like why people say "turn" on the lights), and see some really great architecture. We recommend it!

Nicholas Westergard

Neat place. Check it out if you're looking to increase your intelligence

Steven Shanker

Wow! This was an unexpected surprise. House is spectacular and the tour guide really brought it to life. Well worth the time and money.

Ann Klavano

Nicely restored house. The docent was excellent. It was not a mansion but a nice house. Especially interesting is the fact it was the first house light by an Edison style hydroelectric dynamo. They have some original wiring and light fixtures and educational displays in the basement. A nice way to spend an hour and a half.

Karen basler

Great history and tour.

Brian Jacobs

Historical house

John Knippel

Beautiful historic home, knowable tour guides

William Kurkanp

Beautiful example of Victorian homes The first house in this hemisphere with electric lights instead of gas. The woodwork and fireplaces are unbelievable

Jennifer Soltau

Must stop

Tara Lind

Amazing history here

In Christo

What a gem in the Fox Valley!

Scott Barker

What a wonderful place to go and enjoy the sights and sounds of the Christmas holiday

Linda Salzmann

The tour was wonderful!

Tony Knuppel

Hourly guided tours by knowledgeable history enthusiasts. Well worth the fee – especially at Christmastime with the Victorian decorations.

jerry w

Love seeing the historical places in the valley. Had great pleasure to meet one of the former residents and ask some fun questions. You won't be disappointed with a visit here!

Audrey Glatz

Very interesting tour.!!!! Learned a lot.

Peter Bebeau

History coming alive here, great your guide. Very interesting !

Amelia Tuyls

Amazing experience with a great tour guide

Julie Eddy

Always amazes me how well kept the place is and the people are so nice. So much better than other historic houses I've visited. Makes me want to volunteer!

Kimberly Kamke

Beautiful!

Paul Schroeder

Very informative and a nice bit of Wisconsin history.

Alexi Gray

It was a great guided tour, loved all the information and accuracy. The renovation looks beautiful, was really blown away by some of the before and after photos.

Beki Kunstman

Beautiful detail! Interesting history and a great learning experience. Christmas and Halloween decor and tours available!

Chadd Gostas

Love the haunted Halloween tours!

Maite Barragan

This is a small house museum and probably not the best for kids. The tours are a little too in depth for short attention spans. However, if they make it through the tour they would love the interactive exhibits downstairs.

Sara Sickels

Awesome Halloween tour

Dennis Moder

Nice mini history review of Victorian times..thankful we are living much better lives than the wealthy of the mid 19th century.

Jon Reinert

It's very interesting to see and learn about the culture and people and history of the house. However, there are many mistakes that the people who decorated the house made. The furnature is not placed accurately. It's not a big deal, but it can hurt others

Tammy Mossholder

Loved it!

Rich Moen

What a wonderful step back in time! The volunteer that gave us the tour was very engaging and it was a passion for her to share the history.

N Flores

Este lugar es sorprendente, además que tiene áreas interactivas, el personal es sumamente amable, volvería a ir.

T Hess

They are rude. You can't take pictures.

Deborah Bennett

Went to Haunted Hearthstone last night. Was a lot of fun! Definitely going back to see the Christmas decor.

Oliver Graham

This is a real gem of Appleton! I feel it's a bit pricey for the tour which is the only reason I am giving it 4 stars instead of 5, as it only takes about an hour or so to go through and look at everything. But it is definitely worth seeing, some of the artistry that has gone into this house is truly brilliant. A ton of very interesting tidbits of history , overall a great stop!

Martha Arvizu-Wenzel

GREAT experience! The kids thought so as well!

James Stedl

Very nice look into our history.

Bob Roberts

Wonderful place to visit

Dan Hancock

Fascinating old house with beautiful hand carved woodwork and intricate ceiling designs. Storytelling tiles around the fireplaces. A must see if you come to Appleton.

David Peterson

Nice history if the city. Pricy for the experience.