# Hillforest > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Hillforest > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Hillforest.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillforest > Source revision: 1309984003 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Historic house in Indiana, United States}} {{for|Thomas T. Gaff House, in Washington, D.C|Thomas T. Gaff House}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}} {{Infobox NRHP | name = Hillforest (Forest Hill) | nrhp_type = nhl | nrhp_type2 = cp | nocat = yes | image = Hillforest Mansion (Thomas Gaff House), Aurora, IN (48353560426).jpg | caption = | location = 213 Fifth Street, [Aurora, Indiana](/source/Aurora%2C_Indiana) | coordinates = {{coord|39|3|13.9|N|84|54|6.02|W|display=inline,title}} | locmapin = Indiana#USA | area = {{convert|11|acre|ha}} | built = {{start date|1852}} | architect = [Isaiah Rogers](/source/Isaiah_Rogers) | architecture = [Renaissance](/source/Italianate_architecture), [Italian Villa](/source/Villa) | added = August 5, 1971{{NRISref|2007a}} | designated_nrhp_type = October 5, 1992{{cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1056&ResourceType=Building|title=Thomas Gaff House (Hillforest)|accessdate=2008-06-12|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606200040/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1056&ResourceType=Building|archivedate=2011-06-06}} | refnum = 71000005 }} The '''Hillforest''' Mansion, also known as the '''Thomas Gaff House''', is located at 213 Fifth Street, in [Aurora, Indiana](/source/Aurora%2C_Indiana). Built in 1855 on a bluff above the [Ohio River](/source/Ohio_River), it is one of the finest surviving examples of an [Italian Renaissance](/source/Italianate_architecture) estate house, and a rare well-preserved example of the work of architect [Isaiah Rogers](/source/Isaiah_Rogers). The mansion, which was designated a [National Historic Landmark](/source/National_Historic_Landmark) in 1992,{{Cite journal|title=National Historic Landmark Nomination: Thomas Gaff House / Hillforest|url={{NHLS url|id=71000005}} |format=pdf|date= |author= |publisher=National Park Service}} and {{NHLS url|id=71000005|title=''Accompanying eight photos, exterior and interior, from c. 1940, 1991, and 1992''|photos=y}} {{small|(32 KB)}} is owned and operated by Hillforest Historical Foundation. It is located in the [Downtown Aurora Historic District](/source/Downtown_Aurora_Historic_District). ==Description and history== Hillforest was designed by [Isaiah Rogers](/source/Isaiah_Rogers) and built in 1855 for Thomas Gaff (1808–1884), a Scottish born businessman who moved to Aurora in the 1840s. Gaff and his siblings had a large number of business interests, including alcohol production (distilleries and breweries), railroads, and steamships. The design of Hillforest is evocative of the steamships that plied the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in the 19th century. The Hillforest estate is {{convert|11|acre|ha}} in size, and includes, in addition to the house, formally landscaped gardens, a carriage house (a non-historic 1970s reconstruction), and land historically used for farming. The house is a 2-story frame structure covered by a low-pitch hip roof. Its main facade is finished in vertical wide board siding, while the other facades are finished in shiplap siding, with wooden quoin blocks at the corners. A semicircular section projects at the center of the main facade, rising to a belvedere on the roof. A single-story porch extends across the full width of the facade, with a second-story porch around the central projection. Windows are of full length, removing the need for doors to access the porches. The interior is sumptuously finished, with original ''[Trompe-l'œil](/source/Trompe-l'%C5%93il)'' artwork on the walls. The property remained in the Gaff family until 1926, when it was purchased by William Stark, a furniture manufacturer. The house served as a [VFW](/source/VFW) lodge for a time, and was turned into a museum in 1956. ==See also== *[List of National Historic Landmarks in Indiana](/source/List_of_National_Historic_Landmarks_in_Indiana) *[National Register of Historic Places listings in Dearborn County, Indiana](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places_listings_in_Dearborn_County%2C_Indiana) *[Thomas T. Gaff House](/source/Thomas_T._Gaff_House), Gaff's house in Washington, DC ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== {{commons category-inline|Hillforest}} *{{Official website |http://www.hillforest.org/}} *[http://www.cincinnatiusa.com/Attractions/detail.asp?AttractionID=108 Cincinnati tourism site's page] *{{HABS |survey=IN-302 |id=in0460 |title=Thomas Gaff House, 213 Fifth Street, Aurora, Dearborn County, IN |photos=4 |cap=1}} {{NHLs in IN}} {{Dearborn County, Indiana}} {{National Register of Historic Places in Indiana}} Category:Houses completed in 1855 Category:National Register of Historic Places in Dearborn County, Indiana Category:Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Category:Historic American Buildings Survey in Indiana Category:Italianate architecture in Indiana Category:Historic house museums in Indiana Category:National Historic Landmarks in Indiana Category:Museums in Dearborn County, Indiana Category:Houses in Dearborn County, Indiana Category:1855 establishments in Indiana Category:Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Indiana --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hillforest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillforest) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillforest?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.