Magnificent Vaile Mansion

Last month, Captain Cavedweller and I took a trip to Kansas City for both work and fun.

One day, we drove to Independence, Missouri, and had a delightful time exploring the glorious Vaile Mansion.

The house is amazing from the outside. It was built for Colonel Harvey Merrick Vaile and his wife, Sophia.

The three-story Gothic-like structure is constructed of hand-pressed red brick, trimmed with white limestone and tall, narrow windows.  Construction for the house began in 1871, with the house completed in 1881 at a cost of $150,000. 

Colonel Vaile  built his wealth by investing in several business ventures, primarily interests in the construction of the Erie Canal. He was also part-owner of Star Mail routes. He was a prominent figure in Independence social and business circles.

It was reported by the  Kansas City Times  to be “the most princely house and the most comfortable home in the entire west,”  in an article in 1882. The mansion quickly became a showplace in the area and was a place many notables of the day visited. 

 

The house was decked to the nines for the holidays when we were there, which delighted me to no end.

The mansion is reported to be one of the best examples of Second Empire style architecture in the United States. The house includes nine marble fireplaces.  

The 31 room mansion also includes a fabulous music room, spectacular painted ceilings, flushing toilets, and a  built-in 6,000 gallon water tank. 

The painted ceilings were different in each room, and all works of art.

I was fascinated with the light globes in several of the rooms because each globe was slightly different. Some had scenes, others had florals and vines, but they were all lovely.

Colonel Vaile was involved in the Star Route scandal not long after moving into the house. He faced trials in 1882 and 1883. Although he was found not guilty, he had to spend more than $100,000 in trial expenses. In February 1883, while he was in Washington D.C., his wife, who had been diagnosed with stomach cancer, passed.

Although she only had a few years in the beautiful home, her touches are seen throughout the mansion. Vaile remained at the house until his death in 1894, although he never remarried.

The house changed hands many times over the following decades, becoming a sanatorium and then a nursing home. When the threat of demolition loomed, the property was acquired by the City of Independence and underwent a long-term restoration. The house is now a museum operated by the Vaile Victorian Society, a non-profit organization established in 1983 by local residents.

I’m so glad we had the opportunity to see this glorious house, attired in her finest holiday splendor.

If you enjoy stories about amazing homes, I hope you’ll check out A Christmas Dream. The house is among the many unforgettable characters in this sweet story.

He came to build the house of his dreams, but found a home for his heart.

After an extensive search for the ideal location to build a house he’s spent years designing, Brant Hudson knows he’s found the perfect site the moment he sets foot on the land near Silver Bluff, Oregon. However, frustrating delays leave him laboring alongside the very crew he hired to finish the house in time for Christmas. His work leads the woman who catches his eye to believe he’s a carpenter rather than the owner of the grand manor.

Holland Drake grew up on a farm, but she aspires to secure a position as a housemaid at Hudson House. While delivering lunch to her brother at the worksite, the door opens to a job when Holland encounters a strikingly handsome carpenter whose charm captivates her. Soon, Holland discovers the enchanting man is none other than the owner of the house and her new employer.

As the holiday season arrives amid a flurry of excitement and possibilities, Holland and Brant face choices that could change their lives forever. Will fear hold them back from stepping into the future together, or will their Christmas dreams of love come true?

A Christmas Dream is the first book in the Hudson House Holiday series of wholesome, heartwarming Christmas romances full of the joy of the season.

Have you ever visited a beautiful Victorian home, or a place you’d consider a dream home?

Or maybe you live in your dream home? What do you like best about it?

To stay up on our latest releases and have some fun, too, join our Facebook Reader Group HERE!

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After spending her formative years on a farm in Eastern Oregon, hopeless romantic Shanna Hatfield turns her rural experiences into sweet historical and contemporary romances filled with sarcasm, humor, and hunky western heroes.
When this USA Today bestselling author isn’t writing or covertly hiding decadent chocolate from the other occupants of her home, Shanna hangs out with her beloved husband, Captain Cavedweller.

41 thoughts on “Magnificent Vaile Mansion”

  1. Riofdan Mansion is not victorian but an amazing house. It’s housed 2 families, Brothers, It’s in Flagstaff. The state of arizona acquired it in 1986. I got to see it in 93. Needed a lot of work then but was an amazing house and still is. One side the brother had 6 son’s and the other side had 2 daughters. It’s connected by a billard room. Had it’s own form of heating and air conditioning advanced for it’s time. It’s 2 homes in one building. Just an amazing home.

  2. Hey Shanna! How beautiful! What a treat! I’ve seen a few Victorian homes and The Biltmore Mansion. Anything Victorian I love! The Grand Motel on MacInknaw Island is beautiful! If you have seen Somewhere in Time with Jane Seymour and Christopher Reed, you will enjoy the trip to the Island. The island has no vehicles. You travel around it either in bikes or horses. One place I would love to see again! I recommend it to anyone who loves to step back in time to enjoy what use to be.

    Loved your Holiday Hudson House series! Many blessings to you and CC!

    • Hi Tracy,
      Thank you for reading the Hudson series. I appreciate you!
      And I would love to see the Grand Hotel because that movie is one of my all-time favs. Someday!
      Victorian home are so, so fun to tour. So glad there are homes open to us who love to learn more about the history of that era.
      Happy New Year and blessings to you!

  3. Oh, Shanna! The mansion is beautiful and what wonderful pictures. Thank you so much for sharing ;o)

    I’ve toured all the mansions of Newport Rhode Island over the years in both summer and winter. They are stunningly beautiful; especially when decorated for Christmas!

  4. What an amazing home, Shanna! I love touring historic homes and buildings. It’s like steeping back in time. And this one is so well preserved! I’m so thankful for preservation societes that restore these historic treasures and allow us to get a glimpse of the past. My daughter and I toured some historic homes in Waco, TX a few years ago. I remember one in particular not nly because of its fancy furnishings but because the lady of the house was such a petite woman, she would often exit to the lawn by swinging open one of the tall windows in the parlor and using it like a door. Ha!

    • The preservation societies are amazing and I, too, am grateful for their work that allows us all to walk back into history. How fun about the lady of the house who used the window for a door. I love the tours when they share little tidbits like that. Thank you for stopping by today, Karen! I appreciate you!

  5. What wonderful pictures! Thank you for sharing them! I’ve always loved the house that was shown in the movie The Notebook, that house is pretty close to how I picture my dream home. The home I live in now is great since it was built for me by my dad and it’s been my safe haven since.

  6. What a beautiful home. Thank you for sharing the pictures. I was raised in a farmhouse that my great grandparents built. I loved it. I also love the ranch style home we live in now.

  7. We visited some amazing homes in Newport RI. They were also decorated for Christmas. They were fun to visit.

  8. I love Victorian house tours! I love Victorian houses period. I’m always on the lookout for some big old Victorian house to live in and fill it full of books!

  9. Such a beautiful mansion! I haven’t visited a beautiful home like that although Henry Ford/Greenfield Village in Michigan has some lovely homes that have been donated and moved to the property or a replica of such. None are mansions like this one.
    I live in a mobile home so nope not my dream house. I don’t know if I will ever have one…..

    • Hi Carrie,
      How fun you’ve seen some beautiful homes in Michigan. It sounds like a great place to visit! And I hope you someday find yourself in your dream home! Have a lovely year ahead!

  10. Yes- We visited a Vanderbilt mansion in Hyde Park, NY. It had many novel inventions implemented into the house. They had an elevator, the roof/ceiling on the second floor (which was quite large, by the way) was constructed in such a way it brought cool air from the outside, while letting out the hot air found in most homes without air conditioning. They were the first method of air conditioning and, believe me, it was truly cool standing under this part of the ceiling. We visited in a pretty hot time of year. The home was beautiful.

  11. Loved your book A Christmas Dream and the other Hudson family books. Also enjoyed visiting the Vaile Mansion through your eyes. I have visited a few of the former President’s homes but none were that magnificient as this one sounds. They were very interesting though. You are always so thorough in your research that you do for your books and I love that authenticity. Thank you for taking the time to make sure your facts are straight. My husband read a book the other day set in the old west and the author said in the book that the main character had an email from the president. lol I think telegram might have been more accurate. LOL Don’t know how someone didn’t catch that.

    • Hi Sarah,
      Thank you so, so much for your kind words. I’m so glad you enjoyed the Hudson series, and so appreciate your readership and what you shared. Oh, gracious about the email error in the book. Someone should have caught that for sure!
      Wishing you beautiful days ahead!

  12. Hi Shanna, yes I have visited some beautiful ones also. Thank you for sharing about this home , it looks beautiful and I bet it was really something to see all fixed up and decorated for the Christmas Holidays. Your book sounds like a Great read and I love your book cover! Have a great day and a great rest of the week.

  13. Beautiful house, Shanna. I’ve been in Independence and I didn’t know it was there. Maybe I’ll go again and see it. Not THAT far from me. five hour drive or so. I went to the Western Trails Museum to learn about the Oregon Trail and really liked that place.

  14. Eureka, California has some beautiful Victorian homes that I remember from family vacations. My Mom grew up in a Victorian house in St. Louis, Missouri. What I remember about being on the 3rd floor, in the humid, miserable St. Louis summers, was how cool it always seemed to be while the rest of the house was hot. Though not a true Victorian, a house on our property that served as headquarters for a huge land and cattle ranch, is over 143 years old.

    • How delightful you have memories of homes from family vacations, and the house your mom grew up in. That’s really neat about the headquarters on your property. I love those old buildings!

  15. Visiting historic homes is always a major part of any trip we take. We have visited many lovely ones. We have not yet ben to the Kansas City area, but we will definitely visit the Vaile Mansion when we do. We have visited the Biltmore Estate several times. It is only about 65 miles from where we live, We always wanted to live in an old house and bought the furniture for it over the years. We did look at 2 wonderful houses, but my husband was in the military. It wasn’t realistic to buy a dream home and then have to leave it. The price at the time was very reasonable. The first was an mid-1800’s 2 story, brick farm house in excellent condition on 250 acres for $95,000. We actually tried to make an offer on that one, but the realtor messed it up. The second was a lovely Victorian in town with pocket doors,. built in china cabinets, porcelain bowl vanities, and wonderful woodwork. That one needed a little work and was $38,000. That was back in the late 1970’s. When we retired, we ended up in TN (both those houses were in northern NY on the Canadian border) because we needed the VA hospital and the one here is excellent. We have a Victorian farm house which had been ignored and abused over the years. We literally had to gut it down to the studs and redo everything, while we were living in it. We spent many years playing musical rooms. We have restored it and do love it and the view of the Blue Ridge Mountains we have. Even after all these years, there is still work to be done. We have reached the point that it is time to redo some of what we did 30 years ago. It was nice that most of the furniture we had was period furniture for the house.

    • Wow, Patricia! So much work on your house, but I bet you love every inch of it. I’m sure it is a beautiful home! So wonderful you had that period furniture that fit right in. I love those old pieces so much! Happy New Year to you!

  16. The historic homes, in Ridgway, PA, were beautiful… the visitors center tend to set up tours annually … my favorite tour involved stained glass windows that were from artisans who left their mark of creativity in the early 1900s… yes, these windows were primarily in churches but they were in private homes too.

  17. Our dentist office is located in a historic home. The chandelier with the globe lights in your post is similar to the one in the front sitting area. Also, the lamps, chairs & flooring are still the same. It’s like we travel thru time when we have a appointment. It’s amazing. Thank you, for sharing about the “Vaile Mansion”.

  18. I have never visited it but it is beautiful! I have bee. To some southern plantation houses and stayed in a mansion that was converted into a B&B. They said it was haunted, and sure enough, a small table started moving in the middle of the night. It made a rattling noise and spilled a partially full glass of water. For sure,that woke up my sister and me!!

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