James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home Tours, February - August 2024

Enjoy a guided tour of the preserved home of the "Hoosier Poet," James Whitcomb Riley. Completed in 1872, the James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home remains one of the finest preservations in the U.S. of a Victorian, Italianate home. Owned by the Nickum and Holstein families, Mr. Riley lived there as a guest from 1893 until his death in 1916. The Museum Home opened to the public six years later, and the support of generous donors allowed its caretakers to carefully preserve the original décor, furniture, art and architecture of this rare, historic space.

Please note: Ticket sales end 2 hours before the tour time. Tour times are also frequently reserved by school and group tours. For short notice tours or specific questions please call 317-681-5885 to check on availability.

Step inside from the historic Lockerbie Square neighborhood and in to Mr. Riley’s Victorian world. It’s easy to imagine the poet sitting in the parlor, pictured above, playing violin under the crystal gasolier or reading aloud from Charles Dickens in the library, as he did every Christmas Eve. Visitors will tour the entire home, including both dining rooms and all five upstairs bedrooms.

During his lifetime, James Whitcomb Riley became a nationally renowned author and an Indiana icon. Known as the “Hoosier Poet,” Riley celebrated the people and culture of rural Indiana in his poetry and spent the last 23 years of his life residing in this grand, Italianate home. A talented performer, his poetry readings in sold-out theaters across the country combined with the sale of thousands of his poetry anthologies spurred his rise to prominence.