Kelton House Museum and Garden, Victorian house museum in Discovery District, Columbus, United States.
Kelton House Museum and Garden is a brick house from 1852 in Columbus, Ohio, built in a mix of Greek Revival and Italianate styles. It now operates as a local museum with furnished period rooms and an outdoor garden planted with species common in the 19th century.
Fernando and Sophia Kelton had the house built in 1852, and during the years leading up to the Civil War they sheltered people escaping slavery as part of the Underground Railroad. The house passed through several generations before the last family member left in 1975.
The house remained in the same family for over a century, and the rooms still hold their original furniture and personal objects. Walking through the space gives a clear sense of how a well-off family in 19th-century Columbus arranged their home and daily life.
The house is open for guided tours that take you through the period rooms and the garden. Visiting in warmer months lets you see the outdoor plantings at their best, though the interior is worth the trip in any season.
Grace Bird Kelton, the last family member to live in the house, was among the first professional interior designers in the country and contributed to redesigning rooms in the White House. Some of her own choices in furnishing the Columbus house are still visible in the rooms today.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
