Hillforest, overlooking the Ohio River, was the home of industrialist and financier Thomas Gaff and his family between 1855 and 1891.
Shipping and riverboats were significant elements of the Gaff business enterprises and are reflected in the architecture of the home.
Note the third floor belvedere resembling a pilot house.  The style is Italian Renaissance, completely symmetrical and characterized by broad overhangs, ornately carved brackets, arched windows and graceful balconies and porches.
Hillforest is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1992.
Period furnishings, including some original pieces returned by Gaff descendants, reflect the active lifestyle of 
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A NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK

213 FIFTH ST.
AURORA, INDIANA

You are visitor since 11/13/06

the former residents of this 12 room, split-level home during the period following the Industrial Revolution.
The mansion has been carefully restored to its original grandeur.  Trompe l'oeil wall paintings in the twin parlors and central hall, parquet flooring, elaborate plaster moldings and ceiling medallions, Venetian glass windows - are all representative of its period.
A museum room features changing displays, and the underground wine cellar off the first floor houses implements and utensils including an original pony keg from Gaff's Crescent Brewery.
The suspended staircase was patterned after those at the ends of the Grand Salon on the more elaborate riverboats of the time.  The Gaff children once rode a pony up these stairs and out the rear door.
The Hillforest Historical Foundation invites you to visit the mansion and enjoy the beauty and charm of the surrounding Ohio River Valley communities.