Hillforest Mansion, Aurora, Indiana

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The Hillforest Mansion, also known as the Thomas Gaff House, is located at 213 Fifth Street, in Aurora, Indiana. Built in 1855 on a bluff above the Ohio River, it is one of the finest surviving examples of an Italian Renaissance estate house, and a rare well-preserved example of the work of architect Isaiah Rogers.

The design of Hillforest is evocative of the steamships that plied the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in the 19th century.

The Hillforest estate is 11 acres in size, and includes, in addition to the house, formally landscaped gardens, a carriage house and land historically used for farming.

The property remained in the Gaff family until 1926, when it was purchased by William Stark, a furniture manufacturer. The house served as a VFW lodge for a time, and was turned into a museum in the 1956.

GPS Location: 39°03'13.5"N 84°54'03.9"W