I seem to be stuck on the wonders of Kansas, but I figure after the Garden of Eden, I should show you something a little different this week. Abilene, Kansas, is home to quite a few interesting historical sites—the Eisenhower Museum and family home, Old Abilene Town, Greyhound Hall of Fame, Museum of Independent Telephony and several wonderful mansions. Today I’m going to show you a few pictures and tell you just a little about the Seelye Mansion. Lovely right?
Edison light fixture in the main hallway - even the wiring and light switches are original.
This is a Tiffany cut mosaic tile fireplace
The gorgeous library!
One of the six original Kellogg wall phones.
Original fixtures in the servants' restroom.
Dr. Seelye's daughters, Helen and Marion were little girls when the home was built. They never married and lived in the home into their 90s - leaving almost everything right where their mother had placed it. The current owner purchased the mansion in 1981 while they were still alive, and shared the Seelye Mansion with them for several years. (I wouldn't have wanted to leave this home either!)
Dr. Seelye's daughters, Helen and Marion were little girls when the home was built. They never married and lived in the home into their 90s - leaving almost everything right where their mother had placed it. The current owner purchased the mansion in 1981 while they were still alive, and shared the Seelye Mansion with them for several years. (I wouldn't have wanted to leave this home either!)
The electrical fixtures & appliances and most of the furniture and decorative elements are still original. Other items are only 80 years old, added when Frank Lloyd Wright remodeled the interior in the 1920s. The original Edison light fixtures, and old Edison music machines that fill the house are gorgeous, but the thing that enthuses most visitors is the lever operated bowling alley which was also purchased at the World's Fair. Pretty Cool!
So if you can’t make it as far west as the Garden of Eden, then do stop in Abilene and see some of the wonderful historic sites, including the Seelye Mansion. You won’t be disappointed.
What are some of the wonders of your city or state that you’d like other people to know about and visit?
May you find joy as you explore each day! ~Judy
Hi Judy,
ReplyDeleteI love that Mansion! The furnishings, fixtures and tile work are awesome! I often wonder what it would be like to live in a home like that. Probably drafty, but I would be willing to put up with that to live in such opulence. I love antiques and just simply old things; furniture,jewelry, textiles, glassware, dishes, etc.
Thanks for sharing this "wonder" of Kansas. I live in southern New Jersey and we do have some nice mansions, especially along the Delaware River where many of the rich during the 1800's built their summer homes. But since I am only about 45 minutes from Philadelphia we generally go there to see the Liberty Bell, Constitution Hall, Betsy Ross' house and that whole historic area. There is such a great feeling to stand inside the very room where the great signers of the Constitution sat.
Well thanks for sharing and have a wonderful day!
Judy, thank you for sharing with us part of your home state :-) I LOVE the pictures of the house. Drooling over here!!
ReplyDeleteVeronica, I got to visit Philadelphia about 7 years ago for a convention and LOVED all the historical places! Saw the Betsy Ross home, but didn't tour it...same with Constitution Hall. I'm actually going to be in Hillsborough, New Jersey next month to visit my best friend. For some reason, missed that you live in NJ!!
As for Nashville, we have a lot of old homes in the area: The Hermitage, RoseMont, Craigfont, Carter House, Carnton Plantation, Belle Meade, Belmont, Rippavilla (Tammy! :-))...the list goes on! But if you visit at Christmas, you HAVE to go see the lights at the Opryland Hotel :-)
From a Kansas girl - home has all the wonders I need. My personal favorite is the Flint Hills. Gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteComing from the western part of the continent, my surrounding are not that old...we had an old log barn on our property that i adored, but a heavy snow storm overcame it's staunch pride. i love old buildings, and loved the tour you gave. it must be awesome to live surrounded by antiques - both furnishings and buildings. Thank you
ReplyDeleteOh Wow Judy!
ReplyDeleteI am truly in seventh heaven tonight after reading your post.(Great minds think alike.:)
Seelye Mansion looks fabulous. I love the pics, and as for the bowling alley, that has to be unique.I'm sure not too many houses would house one of those!
I must say I was impressed to note the cistern in the servants' rest room was a low one with a handle much easier for your "convenience," (if you'll pardon the pun) as opposed to a high cistern with a chain,such as we have in our historical houses. over here.
I would love to visit The Patent Medicine Museum to see the Seelye Lab too..so much to put on our bucket list for "MUST DO"S next year!
And the library..is that a foot pedal under the desk to switch on the lamp?
You can get stuck on your wonders of Kansas as much as you like,because I really am into your great history lessons!
Thank you so much for sharing them with us.
As for some of the wonders of our State,(South Aus) one would have to be Ayers House in Adelaide, built in 1845 and let to Sir Henry Ayers where he lived, until he purchased the property in 1871.
Another great tourist attraction is Sir Hans Heysen's (famous artist) historical home called "The Cedars,"(still owned by the Heysen Family today) situated in our beautiful Adelaide Hills at Hahndorf(formerly known as German Town) on 60 hectares of land (approx 150 acres) It includes a magnificent garden and a walking trail. A very worthwhile visit!:)
Hahndorf itself is a "must" to visit and thrives on tourism. It is traditionally German..their pastries are divine and the shops are amazing.
Judy, you would definitely think, you were back in Germany, and of course there is the Oktoberfest..not to be missed!:)
Just a couple of places that we love and would recommend anyone to visit.:) Hopefully, some of you ladies might head our way at some stage,and we would love to have you!:)
I'm with you, Veronica. I'd love to live in such a place so I could be surrounded by those wonderful antiques, BUT I want someone else doing the dusting and cleaning and upkeep--oh, the $$ to maintain those gorgeous old homes. As for the New Jersey mansions, I'd like to see a few of those--I wrote a series that included George Pullman and he and his family had a summer home called Longbranch in New Jersey--he also constructed a gorgeous home for his mother in the Thousand Islands. :)
ReplyDeleteI got to Philly a couple years ago when I attended the Carousel Convention. We did some touring of a few of the historical sites, but most of our time was spent visiting antique carousels which was fun, too!
I agree about Nashville, Catherine. I haven't seen all there is to see in your fine city, but enough to know it's well worth a visit or two, or three--maybe more. ;)
Ah, Cindy. I agree that the Flint Hills are quite beautiful. When anyone starts talking about how flat Kansas is, I tell them they need to come see our Flint Hills!!
Hi Marianne. I feel very fortunate to be able to visit some of the old buildings and homes and make it a practice to see them out whenever I can, whether in my home state or when traveling. I am so thankful for those who work to preserve homes, buildings and furnishings for future generations. What a gift!
The Ayers house sounds wonderful, Rose--as to all the others that you mentioned! I would dearly love to see them all--I never grow weary of touring beautiful old homes and buildings!
Another great post, Judy! That mansion is beautiful---oh my! I am really enjoying learning so much about Kansas, and look forward to visiting there one of these days (we stayed overnight in Goodland when I was a teen--we were enroute to the Air Force Academy in Colorado--and my vague memories of Kansas are lovely, flat land). ~ I could go on and on about "my" Georgia *grin* but I'll keep it brief, LOL. We have lots of fun places to visit (from mountains to the coast)---as you know, I'm especially fond of our coast (Jekyll Island, etc.) but we have some picturesque small mountain towns that are lovely (especially in the Fall!).There are also some small towns with gorgeous old mansions (similar to the one you showed us today). And although I haven't visited it yet, we actually have a kangaroo farm (waving at Rosie!) in the northern part of our state (my daughter has been there and enjoyed it). I guess you could say we offer more than just "peaches and peanuts" in Georgia, LOL! Hugs, Patti Jo :)
ReplyDeleteI absolutely LOVE that light fixture! And your post has made me feel like a much better mother. I don't have to worry about my girls not wanting to leave my house someday. :) Can't wait to visit this place someday.
ReplyDeleteHi Patti Jo,
ReplyDeleteI've seen enough of Georgia to know there's more than peaches and peanuts!! Some beautiful country, for sure! As for Jekyll Island--well, you know Tracie and I both have a fond place in our hearts for that lovely island!
And Lori, anytime you want to take a trip to Abilene, you just stop by Topeka and I'll join you!!
PJ, great to hear about your Kangaroo Farm.You will HAVE to VISIT there now,so you can be an ambassadress on my behalf!:0)
ReplyDeleteSince I'm a fellow Kansan, I love your posts about our beautiful, but often misunderstood, state. I especially enjoyed today's post since I toured the Seelye Mansion years ago, when one of the Miss Seelyes was still living there (I can't remember which one). I also found the Kellogg wall phone photo interesting since my last name is Kellogg. I didn't know there were phones with this name. Abilene is definitely worth visiting. There are many antique stores as well as the museums.
ReplyDeleteHi Pam,
ReplyDeleteKellogg isn't known like Bell in telephone history, but he really was a major player in both switchboard and early telephone development. Better check your geneology. :) I think he was from Rochester or the northeast somewhere.
I'm a day late stopping by, Judy, but I've always wanted to go see that mansion. I loved the pics you shared! Beautiful, indeed.
ReplyDeleteThanks for giving us a little glimpse into their world.