GoCampingAmerica.com | Posted November
    2nd, 2016

    Historic Home Tours

    Happy Camper Blog

    There are so
    many historic homes across the country have been meticulously maintained and
    offer guided tours so we can get a glimpse of what life was like in a
    different era. Their architecture, furnishings and histories are fascinating,
    so you just might want to plan your next camping trip around a tour of a
    historic home. Here are a few to consider:

    Mark Twain House | Hartford,
    Connecticut 

    Famous author Samuel Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain) and his wife
    Olivia had this 11,500-square-foot home built in 1873 and they lived here from 1874 to
    1891. He considered the years that he and his family lived in this 25-room
    home to be the happiest and most productive of his life.
    National Geographic named the home one of the “10 Best
    Historic Homes in the World,” and Time magazine nicknamed
    it “Downton Abbey’s American Cousin.” Guided tours are available, and Living
    History Tours with costumed members of the Clemens Family or the serving
    staff are offered weekly.

    Find a campground
    nearby.

    The Breakers | Newport, Rhode
    Island

    This opulent 70-room estate is a National Historic
    Landmark. It dates back to 1895 and served as the summer “cottage” for the
    Vanderbilt Family, heirs to the New York Central Railroad fortune. Cornelius
    Vanderbilt II commissioned architect Richard Morris Hunt to design this
    Italian Renaissance-style palazzo which was inspired by the 16th century
    palaces of Genoa and Turin. Opulent isn’t an overstatement – the estate
    includes a Great Hall that towers two and a half stories, and the Morning
    Room is adorned with panels covered in platinum leaf. The Preservation
    Society of Newport County offers a free app that contains an audio visual
    tour of the estate and other Newport mansions. To download it, search for
    “Newport Mansions” in your app store.

    Find a campground
    nearby.

    Biltmore Estate | Asheville, North
    Carolina

    It’s hard to imagine a more beautiful setting for a 250-room
    French Renaissance Chateau. After seeing the
    beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains, George Vanderbilt decided that this would
    be the perfect spot to build his country home. He was a bachelor at the time,
    and construction of the home, which contains over four acres of floor space,
    35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces, took six years. The estate
    features acres of formal and informal gardens that were designed by noted
    landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted. Self-guided tours are included in
    the price of admission, and a visit to Antler Hill Village and Winery, and a
    winery tour and tasting, are also included.

    Find a campground
    nearby.

    Ernest Hemingway Home &
    Museum
    | Key West, Florida 

    While this French Colonial-style home dates back to 1851, it is best known as the
    place where Ernest Hemingway lived for ten years beginning in 1931 and where
    he did some of his most prolific writing. The home still contains some of the
    original artwork and furnishings from when “Papa” Hemingway lived here with
    his wife Pauline, and the 40-50 six-toed cats that live on the property are
    descendants of the ones Hemingway owned. A 30-minute guided tour is included
    in the price of admission, and naturally, there’s a book store onsite that’s
    stocked with Ernest Hemingway’s novels, poems, short stories and
    biographies.

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    nearby.

    Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens |
    Akron, Ohio

    Readers of USA Today named this Tudor Revival
    mansion the number one historic home tour in
    America. Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens is a National Historic Landmark,
    and is also the nation’s sixth largest historic home open to the public. The
    estate dates back to the early 1900s, and includes five historic buildings
    and eight historic gardens on 70 acres. The Manor House has 65 rooms,
    including 18 bedrooms, and all of the collections and furnishings within are
    original. The home offers special holiday events and admission is free to
    veterans and military personnel on Veterans Day.

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    nearby.

    Meadow Brook Hall  |
    Rochester, Michigan 

    Now a National Historic Landmark, Meadow Brook Hall was built by Matilda Dodge Wilson,
    widow of auto pioneer John Dodge, and her second husband, Alfred Wilson, in
    the 1920s. Set on 1,500 acres, the 88,000 square foot estate home was built
    at a cost of $4 million and is considered to be one of the finest examples of
    Tudor Revival architecture in the country. Its design was inspired by the
    country manor homes in England, and the mansion’s 110 rooms are filled with
    fine and decorative art and are elaborately detailed with carved wood and
    stone, ornate plaster ceilings and Tiffany stained glass.

    Find a campground
    nearby.