When you visit Schenck Mansion in Vevay, IN, you’ll be amazed not only by the sheer size of the place, but the care and attention the owners, Jerry and Lisa Fisher, have put into restoring the old mansion to glory. I took a tour of the place with Kendal Miller, PR coordinator of Switzerland County Tourism, who took me on a whirlwind tour of Vevay.
Vevay (pronounced VEE-vee) is a small town along the Ohio River, and is in Indiana’s wine country. It’s the county seat for Switzerland County, the smallest second smallest county in Indiana.
The mansion was originally built in 1874 by Benjamin Franklin Schenck, a steamboat captain, and was a marvel in its time then too. It has a four story tower, which I had the chance to climb inside, which Captain Schenck had built so his children could see his steamboat returning from its latest voyage.
Although the mansion had five bathrooms when it was first built, which added to its marvelousness, each room has its own bathroom now. There are five rooms to stay in, all named for a member of the Schenck family, except for the Wiesman Room, which was named for the second owner of the mansion, the Wiesmans who purchased the house in 1945.
Each of the rooms are gorgeously finished, and the public rooms are beautiful. Everything has been restored to its original glory, providing if nothing else, a historic look at what the mansion looked like 135 years ago.
The mansion is supposedly haunted, and stories about “playful and friendly spirits” moving items around the place are often told to visitors.
The rooms vary in price from $90 to $200, depending on the room, the night, and the season. You can visit www.schenckmansion.com and make online room reservations, or call 877-594-2876. The Schenck is located at 206 West Turnpike Street.
Photo: Kendal Miller
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