Category Archives: Houses

The small town of Vevay sits along the Ohio River between Louisville, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio. The beautiful little river town has a historic downtown surrounded by average midwestern homes. The one home that stands out is an enormous second empire style brick mansion that stands on a hillside overlooking the community of Vevay. The home known as the Schenck Mansion was built in 1874 by Benjamin Franklin Schenck, the son of the “Hay King” Ulysses Schenck.

In the early 1800s, many Europeans came to the Ohio River Valley in the hopes of starting a new life in the United States. Many Swiss families came to the area around Vevay, and the county was given the name Switzerland County. In 1817, Ulysses Schenck emigrated from Switzerland to Vevay and set up a mercantile business selling goods to local farmers. Realizing there was money to be made in transporting hay downriver, he purchased a steamboat to ship the feed grown by local farmers. As business grew along with his wealth, he became known as the Hay King. With the money gained from his father’s business, Benjamin Schenk built his grand home on the hillside overlooking the town. Tragically, he died two years after construction began in 1874 and was never able to live in the completed home. His widow and children lived in the home a few years before moving away. The house on the hill sat empty for decades until the family donated the home to the Indiana Baptist Convention in 1923.

The mansion was given back to the family in 1928 and then sold to the Wiseman family in 1945. The home had changed owners several times over the decades, and the upper floors had been divided up into apartments. In the late 90s, Jerry and Lisa Fisher purchased the home and renovated it into a bed and breakfast. The new owners fixed up the old mansion, bringing it back to the grandeur it once had when it was originally built. In 2020, the home was sold to tattoo artist Kat Von D, who starred on the TV show LA Ink. She is using it as a private residence. There are rumors of the home being haunted. One of the stories claims that the land that the mansion was built on originally had a home on it that burned down. The owners of the home were trapped inside and burned up with the house, and their spirits still roam the property. The fact that Benjamin Schenck died before the home was completed also lends one to believe his spirit still haunts the home he constructed. I am not sure any of it is true, but it is a beautiful historic house along the Ohio River.

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The town of Winchester Indiana sits on the eastern side of the state and is mostly known for the speedway named after the town. South of downtown is a massive second empire style house known as the Stone Mansion. The house is not made of stone, but brick. It is named for Asahel Stone, the man that had the home constructed. He was a Civil War General and also served as a Congressman.

The house was constructed in 1872 for Asahel and his wife Lydia. They lived in the home almost two decades until Asahel died in 1891 and Lydia about a year later in 1892. They were buried next to each other in nearby Fountain Park Cemetery. A cemetery that was created when Asahel donated the land for it to be used by the citizens of Winchester.

The Stones did not have any children and the home passed through several hands over the years. In 2019 the home was purchased by a non-profit organization called Save The Old Properties (S.T.O.P.) Some clam the old house is haunted by the spirits of its former owners. I am not sure about that but they do give tours of the historic home. you can see more at thier website HERE 

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The small town of Cayuga is in the western heartland of Indiana near the Illinois Border. The cross shaped house is said to be the most haunted house in the Hoosier State and was featured on the first episode of the History Channels The UnXplained  hosted by William Shatner. Called the Willows Weep house it was built in the 1890s and several people have died in the home. The man who built it died in the home and three or four people have committed suicide in the home. They say the home is possesed by an evil spirit. I am rather skeptical about the ghost stories but since I saw it on The UnXplained I took a drive past it when I was in Indiana. It was a rather ordinary looking home and I snapped a pic from the road.

P.S. I had a little fun in photoshop with the pic.

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