David Davis Mansion State Historic Site Review

Absolutely beautiful! Love visiting there, one of my very favorite places to go. Love hearing about the history. Very knowledgeable staff. Looking forward to going back.

It's a holiday tradition to go and see the David Davis mansion all done up in it's holiday decor- it's like falling into a Dickens novel.

We hosted a bridal shower today at David Davis Mansion and we had a perfect day! The room was absolutely beautiful and Audrey was helpful in the planning process.

Very interesting place to visit and our guide was very informative

Good history about the family. Well maintained. Great Christmas decoration. It was a fun tour.

I was suprised the tour was donation only! Very beautiful

Amazing historical building. The garden is exquisite!

Historic mansion that is well maintained and staffed with knowledgeable volunteer tour guides.

I spent an hour here in February 2014 just walking the grounds taking pictures of this beautiful Victorian mansion and its surrounding buildings. Even if you only have an hour to spend and want to do something cool, check out this place. Walking around the outside during their operating hours is free, but you might want to stop in the visitor center and drop off some kind of donation in the box anyway. If you have more time, they offer tours of the inside of the house. I plan on going back sometime and checking out the inside.

This is a great place to take kids for a learning experience about the Victorian houses

Well preserved over time. Nice guided tour to the mansion. It was beautifully decorated for Christmas at the time of visit.

As far as italianate architecture and 1870's "guilded age" trappings, this is the house to go to bar none.

Free! And so interesting. Great way to spend a few hours.

Interesting place, nicely maintained. Good tour of the house

The staff really cares about maintaining the history and educating the public. A great visit for locals and people from out of town.

Wonderful historical place but it's only open certain days and hours. Check their website before you go.

The history in this house is amazing. A real must see in the Bloomington area its free to get in. It is a guided tour and so cool to learn about early Illinois and lawyer abe Lincoln

Well worth a visit! Lovingly restored and cared for!

I love the decorations love the history of that mansion so much love it

What a treasure to have in central Illinois, way ahead of it's time in1870, does need a little TLC though.

The home is beautiful and the Christmas decorations are exquisite. The tour left a little to be desired. Truthfully, I would have rather wandered on my own at my own pace and read placards or a brochure or something. But the home itself is very lovely and worth a visit.

It's nice little walk into the history and old tales. The tours guides are very friendly and gives an entertaining peek through the Victorian era of the town and history. The gift shop is also nice and cute.

Awesomely preserved mansion build in 1872 by Juge David Davis, who definitely influenced American history. Visit is free, don't miss it..

Beautiful place. Secluded yet not to far from the city.

I'm usually not a fan of quided tours because they can be awkward and I tend to linger, but this was a great experience. Frank was very informative and didnt rush me at all as I gawked at the architecture. I'll definitely be back!

This house is magnificent! Well worth your time to tour. poo ur hostess was extremely knowledgeable & shared many stories. So glad we went on this tour.

Have toured at special times.Always well done. Volunteer as a host in their Garden Tours.

We brought my WWII Veteran Father in Law and we all very much enjoyed ourselves. Staff was very knowledgeable and the museum was very interesting.

I caught a Christmas tour, it was cool! Lots of history, cool looking building

Beautifully restored home!!! John was an outstanding tour guide!!!!

Great historical stop, only $4 a person for an amazingly informative tour. Planning on taking my family the next time they visit! Warning: no where to sit during tour. This is not for people who can't stand for more than an hour or more. If we hadn't had a prior engagement, our tour guide would have loved to give a 3 hour tour!! Loved her!

It looks like it was built in the 18 hundreds. I dont think anyone even lives in it anymore. The white house is much more like a mansion

This is a one of a kind spot for History buff's. It is unique to Bloomington and Central Illinois. With a deep connection to Lincoln, The Davis house has a wealth of knowledge you can walk away with. Our tour guide was great, he could recall many detailed facts about the house, the items in it, as well as info of the time. This is a great place to enjoy the past, a nice stop to stretch out your legs if your just passing through. I will return again.

Unexpectedly authentic- I figured there would be the usual period reproductions in the house, but everything belonged to the family. An incredible, in depth view into the lives of a prosperous mid 19th century family, with lots of insight into David Davis' personal, political and especially judicial role in events of that time from tour guide Adam, a local grad student. Highly recommended for history or antiques/architecture buffs.

My husband and I really enjoy architecture and history, so this was the perfect place to explore! Start at the visitor's center! There, they show you a short film about David Davis, when he built the house and about the architecture of the time. After that, we had a nice tour. There were only four of us, so we felt very comfortable asking questions along the way! The house is beautiful and even more so because the Christmas decorations were up! The tour guide had a great amount of information about each room and how it was used and why it was designed the way it was. We probably only spent a little over an hour here, but in that time we learned and saw so much!

I drove by and pulled over to take pictures, very pretty. If your driving around by this area, I think its worth the stop even if you don't get out of the car.

Beautiful mansion and friendly staff with detailed tour.

Such a great experience- an awesome tour of an old fashioned and greatly kept-up home! Beautiful!

Beautiful mansion and grounds. Host of the Champaign British Car Festival that I attend and enjoy each year.

Wonderful historical site that often sponsors events of local interest, including yesterday's vintage car show!

The home is well-maintained and adored by the staff and volunteers.

Was in the area and thought we would go for a visit. We happened to be there at the perfect time, as it was the time President Lincoln was also visiting. What a nice jewel in central Illinois.

Worth a small donation to tour. Kids call it "the castle" whenever we drive by.

So beautiful decorated for Christmas can't wait to come back in Spring for the auto show

It's an amazing experience the let you walk through the whole house

Terrific vehicle show on the grounds today. The show included a wide variety of cars, motorcycles, and even a few wood boats. Beautiful place for an event like this.

The David Davis mansion is a restored 1870's home in bloomington. On this visit, they decorated it for christmas with period decorations. I have been a few times and always look forward to going again to see the different seasons decorations. The home and grounds are well maintained and the staff is professional and knowledgeable.

Such a beautiful mansion! The decorations for Christmas were amazing and loved the staff who very knowledgeable about the history.

The Christmas decorations are beautiful. The volunteers selected great themes for each room. The docent was knowledgeable. The intern was pleasant. It was a great day trip with a high school friend and 2 other retirees.

We visited the mansion today. While there were just two of us on the tour, we felt as if we were rushed through the entire house.
When I visit historic houses, I like to linger a bit and NOT be pushed through.
Its not like the Davis house has to hold back throngs of visitors during this pandemic.
The second thing that really bothered me was the docent (Adam) we had. In 2 rooms, after he gave his speech and we looked around, he was on his phone...really ???
As well, while the docent Adam had alot of information to impart...his delivery of said information sounded very mechanical and over rehearsed.
I am a volunteer house docent at another historic house site in Illinois and we as well have alot of information to impart. The major difference we keep eye contact and talk to our guests like 2 friends having a conversation.
I felt like Adam was lecturing to us.
I am happy to return to visit the Davis Mansion as long as,I am not rushed through the house again. And the docent takes the time to explain and not lecture. And leave their phone in their pocket !
The house is lovely and it deserves a chance to show off its Victorian splendor to its visitors.

The David Davis mansion is honestly the most movie haunted house place I ve ever seen that was actually a real house someone lived in. This thing is surreal to see and honestly in the whole time I was there(for a car show at the time) I never got over how strange the place looks; it s so tall and yet tiny, the proportions just seem wrong and somehow it s a real historic mansion David Davis stayed at, definitely worth stopping by, especially if they re having an event on the outside of the mansion. You ll never get over the feeling your on a set for a ghost movie either

Beautiful and significantly historic mansion in a lovely park in central Bloomington. Don't miss the gardens!

Wonderful place for a visit! Love the Victorian era houses/mansions.

This site is stunning. Beautiful grounds and an immaculate interior. The tour guides are very detailed and passionate about the place. I greatly enjoyed the little gift shop as well. It had a bunch of things for kids and adults alike. I cannot wait to go back and bring more people with me!

Overall a great tour, if you enjoy historic homes this is one to see.

No pictures allowed inside unfortunately, so you'll just have to go see for yourself. Really beautiful house, and I'm so glad it's being preserved. Go see the oldest bidet in Bloomington! I visited during a Christmas program and there were way too many people. I look forward to returning and actually being able to talk with the docents. There is a nice gift shop in the basement.

We didnt get to take advantage of the tour but from the outside it was GRAND!! How I would have loved to walk through the halls of this beautiful mansion.

Loved every bit of it and the british car show too.

It was really nice trip from Springfield. I didnt know much of the history so it was enlightening. Would like to go back when it's decorated for Christmas.

Great tours and knowledgeable people. Can ask nearly any question and they will tell you so much.