Campbell House Museum

There are endless stories about how terrible Groupon and Living Social are terrible for businesses, especially small ones and ones that don't have a big profit margin they can cut.  There's some consumer responsibility required in using these coupons properly, but I won't get on that soap box right now.

What I will say is that where I think these sites are worth their weight in gold is in discovering new things which might be right in your backyard but somehow escaped your notice.

My most recent such discovery was the Campbell House Museum.  It's a delightful little (okay, 10,000 square foot) single family home planted right in the middle of the city. 

I like things like this.  Remember how, earlier this year, I went to the Pabst Mansion in Milwaukee?  And to Barrington Hall in Atlanta?  In related news, the Busch family estate opened temporarily for tours this summer, but you didn't get to see the inside of the house, just the grounds.  I didn't go, because I'm holding out to see the house too.

Anyway, back to the Campbells.  The family bought the house in 1854, and the last of the children died in the house in 1938.  During the intervening years, the city grew up around them, but they held fast in their refuge of Victorianism.  Hugh Campbell was the son primarily responsible for the maintenance of the home and preservation of its contents after Robert and Virginia died.  He also cared for his "peculiar" (probably schizophrenic) brother Hazlett until Hugh's death in 1930.  Hazlett was then tended to by a servant around the clock and received medical care paid for out of the Campbell estate.

Around 90% of the contents of the home are original to the Campbell family, and the stories behind some of the pieces are fascinating.  So fascinating, in fact, that I went to the museum twice in two weeks!  The first time, I went with T.  We were the only two on our tour, which took about an hour and a half.  Our tour guide gave us all sorts of interesting tidbits of information.  The following weekend, I went back with G&G.  We had a different tour guide, but another long and fact-filled tour.  Different tour guide, different information, but just as interesting.

I'm just sad that I didn't know about CHM sooner -- I missed the opportunity to drink out of President Grant's cup!  Maybe next summer.

And, as I have told many of you already, I am now a member and will be dragging you all there when you come visit.  So come visit!