Montgomery County Historical Society, Lane Place Antebellum Mansion — Attraction in Crawfordsville

I absolutely loved touring the mansion and hearing the history of the house and of the community!! For anyone that loves history, this is a must-see! I would recommend calling in advance to schedule your visit. When we arrived at opening, the sign was closed and it didn’t look like they keep someone there to welcome walk-ins. We had a tour guide and the tour itself lasted approximately one hour. I was able to successfully navigate my small stroller through the first floor. The tour does include going up a set of stairs that could be challenging for some. My mother has ankle problems so she stayed on the first floor with my child/stroller.

The house is well-preserved and much of the furniture is original. Because a couple showed up late and joined our group about 20 minutes after our tour started, we were literally ushered out of the front door immediately when the tour concluded so he could start at the beginning for the late-comers. So, we didn’t get to look through or purchase any of the books or items from the small gift shop they had and we also didn’t get to go back to any of the rooms to look at them again. My child was getting fussy at this point, so I didn’t ask, but I’m not sure if this is a place you can leisurely stroll through or if you can only view it on a tour. Fortunately, I live in the area so I plan to call to ask about purchasing books from the gift shop and visiting again.

I absolutely loved the tour, the home and the history and I fully intend to return when my child is...

We feel lucky to have had Owen, a local historian who is steeped in details about the house, the family, the town, the government at the time, Civil War, and interior design of the period. Every one of us had our interest sparked by the fascinating details of the history of the place and family, its connections to President Lincoln, to the abolitionist movement, to the personal lives of the family, to Crawfordsville's folks who risked their lives to aid in the escape of slaves to freedom. Since the house remained in the family and was then bequeathed in its entirety as a museum, its interior is filled with authentic period pieces that the family used in daily living. The family's collections of memorabilia and art are left arranged in such a way that it feels intimate to move through their living space, as if they are still there,...

Our guide today was fantastic!! This home is filled with so much history and our guide shared many stories and interesting "bits". It's only $5.00 to tour, and we spent easily 1 1/2 hours with her! The garden is lovely, too. We highly recommend...