The Batesville Area Historical Society Museum was located for a short period of time in the Annex Building of the Batesville Public Library. The Library allowed the Society to use facility until 2008 when the Library expanded it operations. So a search was underway for new home for the Society’s Museum. A building committee was formed and decided to purchase and renovate and old home located at 15 West George Street here in Batesville to serve as its permanent headquarters and as a display site for its collection of historical artifacts.

The house selected was built around 1910 for the John O Kaiser family and was originally located where the current US Post Office sits. It belonged to the Kaiser family until 1969 when Harry Ferhenhoff purchased the home and lived in it until 1974 when Bob Goldsmith purchased and then sold it to Dr. A Daftery in 1976 who used it to house his medical practice until 2000 when it was sold to Dr. Manalo to be used as a medical office. The Society purchased the home on August 18, 2008 to serve as it museum.

The Building committee with the help of many dedicated volunteers began the renovation work on November 8, 2008 and completed the project in September of 2009. Sixty three volunteers contributed over 1215 hours of labor, 12 Batesville High School students contributed 54 hours, and 22 Kiwanis members contributed 545 hours. Local contractors provided the skilled labor tasks such as plumbing, roofing, siding etc. But in the end it was all the volunteers who made the museum a successful project.

The goal was to restore as much of the home back to it original state as possible. A few examples are the floors, staircase, baseboards, exterior doors and pocket doors which were sanded and refinished. The exterior siding and trim were made to give a Victorian Style look as in did in earlier days. The floor boards in the sports room was salvaged from the old Batesville High Gym. A Victorian Style Garden was constructed on the south side of the house and pathways were paved memorial Bricks that friends of the BAHS purchased. The garden will includes a Mural of some of the area’s historical sites which was painted by a Batesville High School art class.

The Society will display its artifacts on a rotating basis so that there will always be something new for visitors to see each time they visit. The museum does not charge admission but free will offering can be made to offset the cost of operating the museum. Donations of any artifacts are always welcome as well as cash donations. Please feel free to take the time to stop by and see the many interesting artifacts of Batesville’s past.