What To See
Martha wanted you to feel as though
“she had just stepped out to visit neighbors.”
Martha Breasted gave the house and 30 acres to the Dinsmore Homestead Foundation as a museum. She requested that everything in the house remain as it was when the family lived here.
Main House: Downstairs
Come hear about the Dinsmore family’s relationship with Theodore and Eleanor Roosevelt; discover their religious and political beliefs as you browse the titles of their unique book collection, and surround yourself with original artifacts and art.
Main House: Upstairs
From antique bedsteads and toys to heirloom textiles, there is plenty to see. Observe how modern technology altered the lifestyle of the family and their servants. Compare the pleasures and hardships of the Dinsmore family’s daily life with contemporary times.
Outbuildings
The outbuildings on the Dinsmore farm are all original and give visitors a glimpse into the labor routines of those who ensured that this farm was an economic success—namely, the enslaved African Americans, the day laborers, and the tenants. You will see nineteenth-century farming and cooking implements and gain an appreciation for the technological advances of today. These structures help us to tell the story of the social, economic, and cultural transitions of American history.
Graveyard
The graveyard is located up the hill behind the house. When standing on the hill in the 1840s through 1920s, the family had a beautiful view of the Ohio River and Indiana. The rock wall which surrounds the present cemetery was built in 1867. Since Julia Dinsmore’s death, the land outside the walls has grown up with trees, but it is still a very picturesque and peaceful space.