Lumber Magnate's Dream: The Opulence of Rockcliffe Mansion

[@christopherkraft1327]

This Grand mansion is spectacular!!! 👍👍🙂

[@ropeburnsrussell]

Magnificent, probably my favorite of all thr houses you have covered. I could live here quite happily.

[@susangrande8142]

It’s a large and in my mind, comfortable house to live in. Maybe a lot to heat in the wintertime, though!

[@annelefevre9457]

Old fashioned bathrooms are fascinating to me. They are always my favorite rooms! The water tank on the toilet is so high. Amazing!

[@jackieraulerson2005]

My favorites too! And kitchens.

[@BamBamBigelow.]

I like those grand square mansions, they look strong

[@MrElliebeli]

I love this era of building: with high quality finishes probably down to plentiful high quality materials and an abundant highly skilled workforce!

[@jchur7128]

Most likely slaves.

[@NikStamps]

@@jchur7128 No, long after......but ever present, no disrespect.

[@suebecker2893]

Incredible materials. The different varieties of wood are amazing. One of my favorite house tours. I don't remember it being expensive. Pleasantly affordable.

[@Andi17G]

This home is privately owned by a very nice gentleman. His is pouring out money to bring this beauty back. It is very well (and reasonably priced) worth the stay. It is mentioned in one of Mark Twain's books, plus a large percentage of the antiques are original to the home. A visit is highly recommended.

[@susanlangley4294]

Thank you for this useful information. I prefer to support such endeavors when traveling.

[@monkeygraborange]

This exterior resembles what I imagined as a kid stately Wayne Manor looked like. 🦇

[@amndveile]

The current owners have been working hard on restoring it & they plan on putting the wrap around porches back

[@joantrainor6584]

I have to agree that this us a fabulous house. I love all the rooms!

[@tamieckert4548]

Very good coverage for this architectural gem that would be great as a BnB place for visiting ✅❣️👌

[@american_byways]

i believe there are several bedrooms for overnight guests

[@tamieckert4548]

@@american_byways Always a trip worth taking to find out! Many Historical landmarks are offering that. My sister is wanting me to go to the Biltmore house for a visit.

[@annajohnson5779]

The latest owners (the two men who have had it in the last 12 years) I believe are operating this as a B&B in addition to the daily tours. So you're in luck! At least they were a B&B when I toured this place back in 2019.

[@bowiearcangeli11]

Wow! Loved the whole house! So beautiful and stately. Thank you for sharing 💜

[@susangrande8142]

My husband and I stayed there a few years ago; it was (is?) a bed and breakfast. It’s a lovely house, and all the bathrooms were nice!

[@phillipwheeler7003]

The entrance hall is magnificent! My favorite! So thrilled this gorgeous home survived!

[@rayn8740]

What a beautiful stately home, both inside and out.💯

[@williamtyre523]

Really glad to see the pictures of the historic bathrooms and to hear that the house continues to function in welcoming guests. A really nice, comfortable house, and a great video, as always!

[@annajohnson5779]

Rockcliffe Mansion also has their own youtube channel, and this video doesn't really touch on even half of the ridiculous and amazing things about this house (like the gigantic tiffany stained glass window on the main grand stairwell of the house). It seems like too they're using a lot of older pictures like from the 1960's in this video when the house first opened to the public before a whole bunch of repairs were made to the place. The mansion's youtube channel also shows a lot about the restoration work they have been doing to maintain the place.

[@andrewbrendan1579]

One of the houses that is big and grand, but also looks homey and comfortable.

[@randyboglisch137]

Such a magnificent house...no favorite room. Loved the all. Thanks again

[@mariakettlehut7399]

Wow what a house!

[@antiquingadventures]

Haven't been to Hannibal since I was a kid! Amazing fireplaces, and love the curved bannister. ❤

[@BulldogDramaDebate]

I've been there, the house is not as impressive as you would think. The staircase is one of the best details. The story is that Mark Twain was asked to say a few words during a visit. He stood on the staircase and talked the the assembled town folks, he finally finished an hour later. Mark Twain said it took him a good week to prepare an impromptu talk.

[@pamelas1002]

Ken, as much as I love your videos, I really miss the in-person tours you used to do. Will you be doing any of those again?

[@ThisHouse]

Yes! I have been coordinating in person house tours in the Chicagoland area. We are taking our time to gather as much information to bring longer, in person tours with interviews from professionals in the field. I’m hoping to have the first one pasted by the end of next month. Stay tuned! -Ken

[@pamelas1002]

@@ThisHouse Yay!😀 Thank you!

[@BamBamBigelow.]

@@ThisHouse Good stuff, I'd like arrival at house and experiencing entering, as best you can capture that on film

[@edgarmichael3276]

Hi I grew up in this town of Mark Twain. In fact my sister was married ar Rockcliff. In 1999. We went to school just below the mansion so we saw it every day. It is grand and a fixture in that town. I no longer live there so thank you for the memories.

[@pavelow235]

Cool if I ever get away to Missouri, I'll be sure and tour the Rockcliffe Mansion!

[@BeauQuillen]

Ken can you cover the home in Hawaii that was used to film the tv show Magnum P.I?

[@ThisHouse]

Thank you for the suggestion. I’ll see what I can find on it

[@sharonquinn2760]

I toured the mansion in the late 1970s. Beautiful. There's an interesting story about the school room and how the map was torn.

[@annajohnson5779]

If you look at the Rockcliffe mansion's youtube channel, there is actually someone interviewing a very old man who was "one of those kids" who broke in to go swipe himself a piece of one of the maps in the upstairs classroom. Put in your earbuds though since he's kinda hard to hear. I toured the mansion myself back in 2019. It seems the new ownership is doing what they can to properly restore the mansion best that they can and they have been documenting quite a bit about their journey in doing so on their channel.

[@larry3034]

I would like to see this beautiful home in person.❤❤❤

[@lisalemberis5195]

I did get to take a tour of this house while visiting Hannibal.

[@patriacaveile2137]

I’ve been inside at home and it is beautiful

[@redsand848evo]

Have you ever done a video on the Carson mansion in Eureka?

[@Jean-sv6kk]

What wealth!!!

[@jillatherton4660]

👍

[@vickilindberg6336]

Rehabbing lumber baron built properties can be extra difficult due to the dimensions of the lumber for example 2X4's are really 2X4 - modern boards aren't full size.

[@Idontcaremuch1000]

I find it odd how the family sealed this house after his death.

[@annajohnson5779]

you think about it though, they probably wouldn't have been able to afford upkeep on the house without him. But you're right, it is strange. For a few years after his death I believe there was a groundskeeper of some kind living on the third floor but he passed pretty early on after Cruikshank's death. Other than that we do know that this place is also haunted. There are many stories of people picking up stuff on EVP like the daughters talking on the 3rd floor. There's been servant stairwell door slams at 2am (which people attributed to Cruikshank himself), shadow figures on camera, and according to a previous caretaker (who now runs Haunted Hannibal as well as the Hannibal History Museum), there was a certain light some entity specifically would not let him turn on only if the finances of the place got too bad (yeah he got it checked by multiple electricians and there were no problems found, but the light wouldn't turn on only when they were financially in the hole, like before the house sold to the current owners, and it turned back on when finances were ok).

[@amada2941]

❤

[@alexstokowsky6360]

The lumber baron who built this mansion stole his son's girlfriend, 27 years his junior, to be his own bride. He and his former wife had previously done a couple's type swap with another couple each pair without knowledge of the other pair and were the talk-of-the-town and not in a good way. They were rejected by the townsfolk of Hannibal, so Cruikshank built this mansion to show off and try to get the townspeople on his good side. He had Mark Twain speak there, amongst other notables and invited all the prominent Hannibal people. He died in1924, and his wife moved into one of their daughter's houses and wanted nothing to do with the mansion. It's a pity This Old House did not physically go to tour this house, as it is not far from St. Louis where the narrator lives, and it is worth a visit. A couple of men from Miami bought the house and operate it as a bed-and-breakfast from last I heard.

[@Andi17G]

She moved next door to live with her daughter.

[@alexstokowsky6360]

@@Andi17G Yes, she did(:

[@paulrithosh84]

They are electrified?

[@FistyMcStabb]

Your voice is oddly soothing when you had just a little bit to much mushrooms!

[@eugeniustheodidactus8890]

Beautiful architecture, but you are not even close to the real history of these majestic buildings which are far older than we could ever imagine.

[@jmd1743]

Would we consider such a house to be the McMansion of their day?

[@alanblanes2876]

This is definitely a custom, not a cookie cutter Mc mansion.

[@jmd1743]

@@GalliaNarbonensis So what example would be considered a McMansion of that time period?

[@annajohnson5779]

@@jmd1743 I don't know. But I do know that this thing isn't a McMansion at all because it was specifically and meticulously calculated (like the owner specifically commissioned a lot of detail into it) and has a ton of exquisite and skilled wood work and stained glass throughout the place. This wasn't some discordant abomination that was just slapped together like a McMansion would be.

[@timothysullivan6790]

What a BORING, clunky exterior. Did they ever build a model? If it had been seen in 3D, the owners probably would have sent the architect back to the drawing board.

[@mrdavid5771]

Entrance hall looks like the muensters