Tour the Bowling Green House a Confederate Commander Spared
A volunteer docent walks you through the Hobson family's two main floors, then up into the cupola above Hobson Grove Park.
Work on this hilltop house began in 1857, and the Hobson family moved in by early 1872. The Civil War stopped construction in between. The tour tells how the unfinished house came through it, then walks the rooms the family went on to live in.
A volunteer docent leads each tour through the two main floors and up into the cupola. Plan on 40 to 60 minutes.
Tours start at the front door at the top of each hour, 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM Tuesday through Saturday and 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM on Sunday. The listing prices adults at USD 12, seniors 65 and over at USD 10, and ages 6 to 17 at USD 8. Children 5 and under go free. Five reviews to date average 4.8.
Guided Historic Home TourGuided tour of the 1872 Hobson family home, 40 to 60 minutes from the front door. All fees and taxes included.www.viator.comPainted Ceilings and the Family's Own Furniture
The parlor ceilings, walls and grained woodwork have been carefully restored. The tour lingers over original furnishings and decorative objects that belonged to the Hobson family. One visitor wrote in May 2025 that "most of the furnishings in the house are original to the house."
The rooms are set in the late Victorian years of 1872 to 1890. Photography is not allowed indoors. Cameras are welcome on the grounds.
Spared by Confederates, Saved by Neighbors
The war brought thousands of Confederate soldiers to Bowling Green. Atwood Hobson, a staunch Union sympathizer, asked commander Simon Bolivar Buckner to spare his partially built house. Buckner used it to store munitions and stationed 102 units of soldiers on the property. In 1868, D.J. Williams redrew the plans while finishing the Warren County Courthouse.
Three generations of the family lived here for the next eighty years. The house was sold in 1952, and a serious fire in 1965 left it uninhabitable. The city acquired the land for a new park and at first slated the house for demolition to make way for a golf clubhouse. A group of citizens formed the Friends of Riverview to save it and run it as a museum.
Up Into the Cupola, Then Out to the Gardens
The climb ends in the cupola, which looks out over Hobson Grove Park, and the listing promises views of Bowling Green from up there. Back outside, the Riverview Golf Course wraps around the grounds.
The back lawn holds statuary from the first fountain placed in Bowling Green's Fountain Square Park. There is a white rose garden with an arbor and a bench, plus a historical marker and a Civil War sign. The museum suggests allowing at least an hour, with time left for the gardens.
Stairs, Tickets and Timing
The listing rates this tour suitable for all fitness levels, and in the same list it does not recommend the tour for travelers with limited mobility, citing the number of stairs. It also says service animals are allowed.
- Mobile or paper tickets are accepted.
- Arrive between tours and you may wait for the next start at the top of the hour.
- Cancel at least 24 hours ahead for a full refund.
- The museum is closed on Mondays.
📍 The house stands in Hobson Grove Park at the end of Main Street, at 1100 W. Main Ave. One visitor in October 2024 found it "kind of hard to find." Meet at the front door and ring the bell at the top of the hour. Afterward, the gardens are right outside the door.