The Dinsmore Homestead is a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that is preserved as a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a variety of ...

. The property contains a house completed in 1842 and several outbuildings. It is located at 5656 Burlington Pike (

Kentucky Route 18 Kentucky Route 18 (KY 18), also known as Burlington Pike, is a state highway that serves as a major road through Florence and Burlington in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The western terminus of the route is at KY 338 in Rabbit Hash. The eastern ...

), west of

Burlington, Kentucky Burlington is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Boone County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 17,318 at the 2020 census. History Burlington was incorporated in 1824. However, today Burlington is unincorpora ...

Overview

In 1839, James and Martha Dinsmore purchased approximately in

Boone County, Kentucky Boone County is a county located on the Ohio River in the northernmost part of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 135,968, making it the fourth-most populous county in Kentucky. Its county seat is Burlingt ...

. He and his family, which included daughters, Isabella Dinsmore, Julia Dinsmore, and Susan Dinsmore, settled there, and with the help of slave labor, raised sheep and grew grapes and willows for a basket-making business that was overseen by German immigrants. The house is notable for containing all original artifacts that were purchased by the family primarily in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, Ohio, and southern Indiana. Some of the stores they shopped at over the years included

Shillito's John Shillito & Co. (commonly known as Shillito's) was Cincinnati's first department store. History In 1817, John Shillito (November 1808 – September 1879) arrived in Cincinnati (from Greensburg, Pennsylvania). The nine-year-old lad was so ...

McAlpin's McAlpin's was a Cincinnati-based department store founded in 1852 as Ellis, McAlpin & Co. McAlpin's opened their landmark downtown location on Fourth Street in 1880, taking over a building from their competitor Shillito's. In 1954, McAlpin's be ...

, Gest & Bruns, and Hunnewell, Hill & Co., all early Cincinnati establishments. The primary sources belonging to the Foundation allow docents to highlight the Dinsmore family's connections to people like:

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

, Alexander Macomb, Silas Dinsmoor,

James Bowie James Bowie ( ) (April 10, 1796 – March 6, 1836) was an American military officer, landowner and slave trader who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He was among the Americans who died at the Battle of the Alamo. Stories of him ...

, John Bell, Samuel Bell, John Ross,

Henry Clay Henry Clay (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seventh Spea ...

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

, General Alexander Macomb,

Margaret Coxe Margaret Coxe (1805–1855) was an American writer and educator. Coxe founded the Cincinnati Female Seminary in 1843. Seven years later, John Zachos became a co-owner and principal of the school. In 1851, they became co-owners and principals of ...

Mathew Brady Mathew B. Brady ( – January 15, 1896) was an American photographer. Known as one of the earliest and most famous photographers in American history, he is best known for his scenes of the American Civil War, Civil War. He studied under invento ...

, Nellie Taft,

Enid Yandell Enid Yandell (October 6, 1869 – June 12, 1934) was an American Sculpture, sculptor from Louisville, Kentucky, who studied with Auguste Rodin in Paris, Philip Martiny in New York City, and Frederick William Macmonnies, Frederick William MacMonn ...

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James (193 ...

, Sarah Gibson Humphreys, Benjamin F. Goodrich,

Randall L. Gibson Randall Lee Gibson (September 10, 1832 – December 15, 1892) was an American attorney and politician, elected as a United States House of Representatives, member of the House of Representatives and List of United States Senators from Louisi ...

Julia Marlowe Julia Marlowe (born Sarah Frances Frost; August 17, 1865 – November 12, 1950) was an English-born American actress, known for her interpretations of William Shakespeare's plays. Life and career Marlowe was born as Sarah Frances Frost, on Aug ...

, Charles E. Flandrau, Charles M. Flandrau,

Grace Flandrau Grace Hodgson Flandrau (April 23, 1886 – December 27, 1971) was an American author of novels, short stories and journalistic pieces. Although she achieved a certain degree of critical acclaim for several of her novels, short stories and some ...

, John W. Riddle,

Theodate Pope Riddle Theodate Pope Riddle (February 2, 1867 – August 30, 1946) was an American architect and philanthropist. She was one of the first American women architects and a survivor of the sinking of the RMS ''Lusitania''. Life Born Effie Brooks Pope ...

, David Goodrich, Robert H. M. Ferguson,

Ronald Munro Ferguson Ronald Craufurd Munro Ferguson, 1st Viscount Novar, (6 March 1860 – 30 March 1934) was a British politician who served as the List of Governors-General of Australia, sixth Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1914 to 1920. Munro F ...

John Jacob Astor IV John Jacob Astor IV (July 13, 1864 – April 15, 1912) was an American business magnate, real estate developer, investor, writer, lieutenant colonel in the Spanish–American War, and a prominent member of the Astor family. He was among the most ...

, Isabella Selmes Ferguson Greenway King,

John Campbell Greenway John Campbell Greenway (July 6, 1872 – January 19, 1926) was an American businessman and senior officer of the U.S. Army Reserve who served with Colonel Theodore Roosevelt in the Spanish–American War and commanded infantry in World War I. ...

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

Henry Cabot Lodge Henry Cabot Lodge (May 12, 1850November 9, 1924) was an American politician, historian, lawyer, and statesman from Massachusetts. A member of the History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served in the United States ...

Corinne Roosevelt Robinson Corinne Roosevelt Robinson (September 27, 1861 – February 17, 1933) was an American poet, writer and lecturer. She was also the younger sister of President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt and an aunt of First Lady of the United States, ...

, Douglas Robinson,

Bamie Roosevelt Anna Roosevelt Cowles (January 18, 1855 – August 25, 1931) was the older sister of United States President Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt (T.R.) and an aunt of First Lady of the United States, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Her childhoo ...

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

Corinne Robinson Alsop __NOTOC__ Corinne may refer to: Places * Corinne, Saskatchewan, Canada, an unincorporated community * Corinne, Oklahoma, United States, an unincorporated community * Corinne, Utah, United States, a town * Corinne, West Virginia, United States, a c ...

, William Loving,

James Henry Breasted James Henry Breasted (; August 27, 1865 – December 2, 1935) was an American archaeologist, Egyptologist, and historian. After completing his PhD at the University of Berlin in 1894 – the first American to obtain a doctorate in Egyptology – ...

Gutzon Borglum John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum (March 25, 1867 – March 6, 1941) was an American sculpture, sculptor best known for his work on Mount Rushmore. He is also associated with various other public works of art across the U.S., including Stone Moun ...

The Dinsmore family, who lived in the historic home from 1842 through 1926, were associated with many historical events and trends that help to inform an understanding of local, regional, national, and global history. Some of the interesting events members of the family were involved in and wrote about include: relations between the U. S. Government and the Cherokee and Choctaw, early Republic land speculations, (for example,

Macomb's Purchase Macomb's Purchase is a large historical area of northern New York in the United States purchased from the state in 1791 by Alexander Macomb, a merchant who had become wealthy during the American Revolutionary War. He acted as a land speculator, sel ...

), the

Texas Revolution The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) against the Centralist Republic of Mexico, centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of ...

of 1836, Early Republic politics, the

Adams Express Company Adams Funds, formerly Adams Express Company, is an investment company made up of Adams Diversified Equity Fund, Inc. (), a publicly traded diversified equity fund, and Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. (), formerly Petroleum & Resources Corp., a ...

, the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

, the sinking of the ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

'', the sinking of the ''

Lusitania Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province encompassing most of modern-day Portugal (south of the Douro River) and a large portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and Province of Salamanca). Romans named the region after th ...

'', and

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Current use

In 1987, the Dinsmore Homestead Foundation purchased the home and approximately to preserve the site. A collection of nearly 90,000 pages of family letters, journals and business records have been preserved on microfilm for use at the Dinsmore Homestead. The home is open for guided tours and the grounds are open to the public. Significant focal points of the Homestead's history include, but are not limited to women's history, African American history, the history of slavery and Reconstruction, Native American history, agricultural history, and the histories of Mississippi, Louisiana, and Kentucky.

References

External links

{{More citations needed, date=May 2009
Dinsmore Homestead

Discover Northern Kentucky: Dinsmore Homestead Part I

Discover Northern Kentucky: Dinsmore Homestead Part II
National Register of Historic Places in Boone County, Kentucky Houses completed in 1842 Historic house museums in Kentucky Museums in Boone County, Kentucky Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky Houses in Boone County, Kentucky 1842 establishments in Kentucky