This is such a special place. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to interact with the staff here and experience histroy at Hearthstone!!

Beautiful home with fantastic craftsmanship. We spent about an hour on the tour with one of the sons that used to live there.Its awesome that a home in Wisconsin was the first to be powered by electricity, have central heat, and indoor plumbing in the entire country.Worth a visit to learn a little history (like why people say turn on the lights), and see some really great architecture.We recommend it!

The Haunted Hearthstone tour featuring Victorian Sequential killers was phenomenal! The actors were very engaging and informative. Great experience! We will be back!

Theyve done a sincere job of creating an authentic experience. The home is full of cool artifacts and displays. I especially enjoyed the kitchen and upstairs bathroom. These are relics of a time that is now beyond us. If you live in the Fox Valley, definitely go check this place out some day. Nice work guys!

An important part of American history. The tour staff was stellar and knowledgable. Coming back for Christmas!

Such a beautiful historic place to visit. The volunteers are so nice and knowledgeable.

Super detailed, fascinating tour.Absolutely beautiful museum. Still in the process of being restored, so dont be shy about letting them keep the change after you pay the $8 entry fee.Staff is all volunteer, and their live and respect for history is glowingly obvious. At least 1 of the volunteers is from one of the families who owned and lived in the house.The communitys appreciation for the foundations work to save the house is also evident; almost none if the furnishings are original to the house. All of the incredibly valuable filler pieces were either donated or sold to them at below cost.Truly a magnificent way to spend a few hours!

Awesome tour of an amazing piece of history. The tour guide was very genuinely excited to share with us the history of the home l!

The Haunted Hearthstone event was a definite recommendation. It was fun, imaginative, and just spooky enough for a scaredy cat like myself.

Beautiful Experience.The Turist Ladues are veey Educated and fun

Everyone there was soooo nice! Cheryl was out tour guide and had great info to share. My family and i felt so welcomed!!!

Beautiful place. Friendly workers, with lots of information.

Our whole family decided to go to the Hearthstone recently and we were pleasantly surprised! The house is beautifully maintained and full of historic fun! The woodwork is amazing. We all enjoyed the tour guide (Kenn) and his varied information about the Hearthstones families, stories, and factoids (and his general demeanor made the tour enjoyable...sometimes this is not the case with a guide!) I think he made everyone on the tour comfortable, including our two girls.The basement has displays that can be enjoyed on your own, with a few interactive electricity-generating activities that we all found informative. Only one of us was tall enough to ride the Velocipede! If you dont know what that is, you might want to just stop in and check it out!Note: I would not bring children under 8 unless theyre mature for their age and trustworthy around lots of fragile objects!

Guided tour host was exceptionally knowledgeable and friendly. The detailed craftsmanship in the house is very nice and in excellent shape considering its age.

This place has some amazing facts...check it out

Its a beautiful home, but this museum is absolutely NOT FOR CHILDREN. The downstairs is hands on, but even so the environment is unsafe. The tour guide is very quick to instruct in a almost menacing manner not to touch anything in the museum. Im all for preservation. Proudly have renovated several historical homes myself, but this museum needs a disclaimer at the door and on their website so that families do not waste their time coming here.

Wonderful tour, very informative and what a pleasant guide, recommend others to go. It truly is a beautiful place, glad they saved it.

The Hearthstone House in Appleton, WI is located on the bank of the Fox River. Built in the late 1800s and lays claim to being the first residence to have electric lights generated by hydroelectric power. Tucked away off the downtown area you might drive by and not know its significance. Your modest admission cost includes a tour of the property which is something you want to take time to do. We had a very pleasant docent named Christine that has been volunteering for 19 years. The house surprisingly has been occupied as a residence and modified somewhat as a restaurant until 1987. Now a museum piece with period correct furnishings, corrected kitchen and design as close to original as possible. Extremely high value find and worth both the time and money to visit and enjoy.

What a great place to get a better understanding of living in the past. Especially when electricity was something more of a novelty than an everyday part of life. Theres a great hands on experience in the basement, especially for children. Highly recommend this.

What an amazing place to learn history tonight here in Appleton!

It was an awesome piece of history. Very eduacational.

Beautiful old Victorian home. Went for the Halloween scare tour. For 15 dollars an adult it was well worth it. If u love history it is a must see. Regular daytime rates are only 6 dollars. We will be going back.

The Hearthstone preservation society is full of passionate history buffs who have preserved a nice old mansion with a unique place in history: that of being the first private residence in the world to feature electricity. Its a neat home with exquisite woodwork throughout, and of course Thomas Edison light switches and other electrical bits. Note that it has limited hours of operation, opening Thursday through Sunday.

Went to the Murderer event and it was great!

This place really captured the feeling of a Victorian era house. Well decorated and very detail, and it was breathe taking. Also, the people who worked there were informed very well and extremely polite to the guest.

A beautifully restored home from the 1800s. The attention to detail in the restoration as well as the original building is phenomenal. The guys are very knowledgeable and very friendly. This was well worth the time in money and I would recommend it to anyone who has an appreciation for electricity, history, antiques, beautiful homes and historical homes.

Drive past it a hundred times and always wanted to check it out. Went for the historic murderers event. Was very interesting. Will definitely go back.

Always amazes me how well kept the place is and the people are so nice. So much better than other historic houses Ive visited. Makes me want to volunteer!

Great tour. Excellent experience in general. Highly recommend. Low price.

Great place to learn some local history and the Victorian Christmas was a nice way to get into the holiday spirit!

Interesting history and well done.

Closed the day I went but met at the door by staff with full information....my sister says its a great tour!

Wonderful. Tour was engaging and interesting. Guide was enthusiastic and had a true passion for the history of the house. So glad I decided to stop in for the tour. If youre undecided and think it may be a boring tour of an old house, you are definitely mistaken, and you must go. Museum has something intriguing for everyone.

Went to Haunted Hearthstone last night. Was a lot of fun! Definitely going back to see the Christmas decor.

This historic beautiful house is a gem in Appleton. We enjoyed the informative wonderful guided tour, and we had an authentic experience visiting this house.

It was a great guided tour, loved all the information and accuracy. The renovation looks beautiful, was really blown away by some of the before and after photos.

This is a real gem of Appleton! I feel its a bit pricey for the tour which is the only reason I am giving it 4 stars instead of 5, as it only takes about an hour or so to go through and look at everything. But it is definitely worth seeing, some of the artistry that has gone into this house is truly brilliant. A ton of very interesting tidbits of history, overall a great stop!

Our tour was given by the director, and not only was he very knowledgeable about the house and the history surrounding it, he was also very excited and enthusiastic about the information in a way that was contagious. He was also able to answer any of the questions we had along the way. The lady at the desk was very friendly and welcoming while we waited for our tour to start. The house is absolutely beautiful and kept in great condition. We were able to see one of the restoration projects they currently have going on, and heard about the process of it, and why they were going to do certain things the way they were. Definitely worth a stop, and definitely looking forward to going back.

What a wonderful place to go and enjoy the sights and sounds of the Christmas holiday

Nice mini history review of Victorian times..thankful we are living much better lives than the wealthy of the mid 19th century.

Our docent was very knowledgeable and entertaining. The house was restored beautifully and decorated very authentically. Thank you George for a great tour!

Will done. Friendly and knowledgeable volunteer crew.

Went for the Victorian Christmas. Wow, wow wow. We said that a lot. I actually grew up three blocks from this house and must have went by it thousands of times. I have never been inside. I picked a perfect time to see the interior with it all decorated for the Victorian Christmas. I would suggest you go closer to the start time as we had an hour and we ran out of time.

A must see..great tour guide...great value....

Great experience. Tour guide was wonderful.

Plenty of history, authentic architecture and furniture, knowledgeable guides and time well spent! Absolutely recommend to anyone considering a visit!

Guided tour was very informative and interesting. Beautiful home.

Fun experience and lots of interesting history. Will be back!

Hourly guided tours by knowledgeable history enthusiasts. Well worth the fee – especially at Christmastime with the Victorian decorations.

Fascinating old house with beautiful hand carved woodwork and intricate ceiling designs. Storytelling tiles around the fireplaces. A must see if you come to Appleton.

Wonderful tour of a beautiful home!

Love seeing the historical places in the valley. Had great pleasure to meet one of the former residents and ask some fun questions. You wont be disappointed with a visit here!

The evening Christmas event was awesome. My entire family had a wonderful time.

Its very interesting to see and learn about the culture and people and history of the house.However, there are many mistakes that the people who decorated the house made. The furnature is not placed accurately. Its not a big deal, but it can hurt others

I liked this house and learning about it history

Nicely restored house. The docent was excellent. It was not a mansion but a nice house. Especially interesting is the fact it was the first house light by an Edison style hydroelectric dynamo. They have some original wiring and light fixtures and educational displays in the basement. A nice way to spend an hour and a half.

Very interesting historical museum. Would have preferred being able to self-guide through the facility, but the facilities are very well maintained and restored.

Fun experience doing a Halloween murderer tour featuring HH Holmes as the serial killer of the night! Gorgeous restored Mansion home; would love to go again!

Magical Yuletide atmosphere !

What a wonderful step back in time! The volunteer that gave us the tour was very engaging and it was a passion for her to share the history.

Beautiful detail! Interesting history and a great learning experience. Christmas and Halloween decor and tours available!

Beautiful, not too miss Historic House Museum. Christmas is a special time to visit. Each room is its own magic of Christmas. Its electrical history is a National treasure.

Very interesting place, I learned a lot would recommend to anyone look for some adventure.

Wow! This was an unexpected surprise. House is spectacular and the tour guide really brought it to life. Well worth the time and money.

Beautiful example of Victorian homesThe first house in this hemisphere with electric lights instead of gas. The woodwork and fireplaces are unbelievable

Beautiful historic home, knowable tour guides

Enjoyed the tour. Beautiful house work knowledgeable staff who love it.

Awesome Halloween tour

Absolutely beautiful!

GREAT experience! The kids thought so as well!

Definitely a must see!!!

Really enjoyed the Appleton history and the guy with the red maga hat

Very informative tour and the home is beautiful. It is worth while seeing.

Very nice look into our history.

History coming alive here, great your guide. Very interesting !

This is a small house museum and probably not the best for kids. The tours are a little too in depth for short attention spans. However, if they make it through the tour they would love the interactive exhibits downstairs.

Neat place. Check it out if youre looking to increase your intelligence

The people were awesome. Beautiful house.

So much history to take in here!

We learned a lot and had a very nice tour guide....will be back...beautiful place

Wonderful, beautiful, historical

Very nice tour, knowledgeable tour guide. Beautiful home!

Very informative and a nice bit of Wisconsin history.

Great back story

Very cool and interesting historic house!

First hydro powered home in Appleton

Great history and tour.

Nice history if the city. Pricy for the experience.

Amazing experience with a great tour guide

What a gem in the Fox Valley!

A awesome historical place to visit when in Appleton

Very interesting

Amazing history here

Very interesting tour.!!!! Learned a lot.

Beautiful!

They are rude. You cant take pictures.

This IS the history of Appleton and the world!

Must stop

Beautiful

Loved it!