Price: Adults $5, Children (12 & under) $1
Oak Hill is a project of the Richland County Historical Society that is open to the public during regularly scheduled tour hours and by appointment for group tours.
The term cottage today means a small dwelling. But Oak Hill was built at a time when the term included large country cottage-villas, and many visitors today are surprised by its size.
It would be difficult to find a better documented mid-nineteenth century house than Oak Hill. It was featured with interior and exterior photos in an 1896 county atlas and was the focal point of Louis Bromfield’s first novel, The Green Bay Tree.
John Riley Robinson built the house for his family in 1847. Robinson was a railroad builder, mine engineer, and all-around capitalist. He situated his home beside an ancient oak tree on a hill overlooking the town. Dr. Johannes Jones and his heirs purchased Oak Hill in 1864 and lived there until 1965 when the Historical Society purchased it and opened it as a house museum. Dr. Jones traveled city to city in his medical practice, advertising ahead of his arrivals and charging enormous fees for his cures. All the furnishings and artifacts throughout the house belonged to the Jones family, including clothing, photographs, furniture, and personal belongings from Victorian times.
The Richland County Historical Society is a 501(c3) non-profit corporation, governed by a board of trustees.
