James Whitcomb Riley Home

The James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home is a preservation which features fine Victorian furnishings and architecture. Home to Riley for the last 23 years of his life, it is open Tuesday through Sunday, offering tours daily.

During his lifetime, from 1849 to 1916, James Whitcomb Riley wrote 1,044 poems, mostly about Indiana and children. After his death, a group of Indiana's distinguished citizens formed the James Whitcomb Riley Memorial Association and purchased the Italianate house to be maintained as a lasting tribute to the great Hoosier Poet.

In 1963, the Riley Museum Home was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places. The home contains authentic Victorian furnishings and an extensive collection of Mr. Riley's belongings, including his upright piano, top hat, and painting of his beloved dog, Lockerbie.