Central Ohio Tourism Guide: The J.E. Reeves Victorian Home and Carriage House Museum

At the turn of the century (the 20^th, not the 21^st), Jeremiah Reeves brought his family to Dover, Ohio to take up residence in a renovated farmhouse, built around thirty years earlier, in 1870. The house featured seventeen large rooms with high ceilings, columns and turrets, a coach house at its back, and was surrounded by acres of land. It sat on a hill overlooking the steel manufacturing sites that were run by Jeremiah. The home and its land were known as "Reeves Heights" by the locals, and soon the house was surrounded by homes for the Reeves family and employees of the manufacturing site. After renovations to return the house to its original state, the house and its coach house are now listed in the National Register of Historic Places and open to the public, as The J.E. Reeves Victorian Home and Carriage House Museum.

The Reeves home remained in the Reeves family until 1977, and when it came to restoring the property, the Dover Historical Society had plenty of history at their disposal. The furniture and decorations had all been carefully stored, and were in pristine condition. With the original furniture to work with, and the memory of the last surviving family member to live in the house, Samuel Reeves Jr., the new owners were able to return the house to almost a mirror image of how it appeared in the early 1900s.

Behind the house, the Carriage House is also dressed in its early 20^th century style, and houses many treasures of the transportation world, plus a few extra surprises. Inside, visitors will find the Reeves sleigh, an 1892 carriage, a doctor's buggy, a Rauch and Lang electric car, and a Regina music box.

The outside of the buildings has been lovingly restored as well. Kiss-Me-Over-The-Garden Gate, Coleus, Snowdrops, Michaelmas Daisies, and Autumn Crocus bloom in season, and vines and shrubbery keep the gardens, redone in the style of Victorian horticulture, beautiful all year long. A garden off the kitchen grows a variety of vegetables of a by-gone era, and just like in the Reeves home, the garden is a place to get lost in time.

Public tours of the house are offered from June through October between noon and 4 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. The Reeves Home and Museum also opens up during the winter, from November 11^th through December 22^nd, for a walk through the home that features stunning decorations and old-time Christmas spirit. Christmas tours run between 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. The admission price for the house tour is $6.00 for adults and $2.00 for children ages 6 - 17. Admission to the garden is free year round.

Treat yourself to a walk back through time.