Celebrating Forty Years as an Essential Part of Our Community
Join Us for Special Tours and Events
Forty years of being an independent non-profit dedicated to preserving and interpreting history is an achievement truly worth celebrating.
Join us as we revel in this accomplishment and celebrate all of the reasons why Hearthstone is on the National Register of Historic Places. Each new tour focuses on the technological, historic, architectural, and artistic significance and for the compelling stories it tells in each of these areas. These special tours highlight are only available in June, July, and August.
All tours are led by Hearthstone’s Executive Director George Schroeder.
Look for 40th anniversary logos for special tours and events.
Epitome of Queen Anne Style:
Hearthstone’s Architecture and Restoration
June 10 at 6:00 pm, June 13 at 2:00 pm
July 8 at 6:00 pm, July 11 at 2:00 pm
August 12 at 6:00 pm, August 15 at 2:00 pm
Designed by famous architect William Waters, Hearthstone is perhaps the best example of Queen Anne Style architecture in the state. Find out what constitutes Queen Anne Style and how it’s presentation at Hearthstone makes it a truly singular work. The tour will start and end outside (weather permitting) and will cover not only the residences exterior and its recent top-to-bottom restoration but also Hearthstone’s breathtaking interiors and its Eastlake and Arts and Crafts elements.
Tickets are $15 each and available exclusively by using the button below.
Look for 40th anniversary logos for special tours and events.
The Founding of the Paper Valley: A Riverfront Walking Tour
June 17 at 6:00 pm, June 20 at 2:00 pm
July 15 at 6:00 pm, July 18 2:00 pm
August 19 at 6:00 pm, August 22 at 2:00 pm
Stroll the riverfront on a beautiful Appleton evening or afternoon to discover why the Fox River has earned the name “The Paper Valley.” Afterall, it was Henry Rogers and his business partners and Kimberly and Clark and their partners that truly shaped the communities that we know today. The tour begins and ends at Hearthstone with stops in between in Vulcan Park (the site of Henry Rogers first paper mill) and at other historic sites up and down the river.
The tour takes approximately 90 minutes and cover 1.5 miles.
Tickets are $15 each and available exclusively by using the button below.
Look for 40th anniversary logos for special tours and events.
Technology Tour… For Adults!
June 24 at 6:00 pm
July 22 at 6:00 pm
August 26 at 6:00 pm
Why should kids have all the fun! This grown-up version of the museum’s popular 6th grade tour will include explanations and demonstrations for kids of all ages of the breadth of Victorian inventions that made Hearthstone a house of the future for the 1880s. These included the phonograph, telephone, central steam heat, and hot and cold running water in addition to green energy and electric lighting.
The evening will end with hands-on experiments, again for kids of all ages that illustrate some of Edison’s favorite inventions like making batteries out of lemons and demonstrating how microphones work using swimming pool charcoal (you can’t make this stuff up!).
Tickets are $15 each and available exclusively by using the button below.
Look for 40th anniversary logos for special tours and events.
Discovering Hearthstone’s Masterpieces:
Art Front and Center
June 27 at 6:00 pm (reception afterwards), June 28 at 12:00 pm
July 25 at 6:00 pm (reception afterwards), July 26 at 12:00 pm
August 29 at 6:00 pm (reception afterwards), August 30 at 12:00 pm
This truly special tour brings Hearthstone’s stunning 19th century art collection front and center… literally. The art that fills Hearthstone’s walls will be on display at eye level in each room where they can not only be leisurely appreciated but where they tell the story of the Rogers family, builders of Hearthstone and their exquisite taste. The collection features works by world-renown artists that truly must be appreciated up close.
Saturday evening tours ($30 per person, $50 per couple) include a white wine reception afterward the tour and also new or renewed annual museum membership at Hearthstone. Sunday’s tickets are $15 each. Tickets are available exclusively by using the button below.