LASR.net Homepage




Menu

The Lebold Mansion


category : Famous Homes
The Lebold Mansion Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this twenty-three room Victorian mansion was built in 1880 by Conrad H. Lebold. The limestone was quarried from nearby Russell County. Conrad Lebold was a local banker, realtor, politician, and Mayor of Abilene for 2 terms. Lebold chose the site of Abilene's first log cabin to build his 23 room home. The Mansion was completed at a cost of $18,000.00.


Lebold's financial empire suffered during the depression of the 1880's and in 1889 he was forced to turn the house over to creditors. George Sterl bought the mansion at a sheriff's sale for $4,400 and occupied it until 1918.


Hard times soon befell the stately structure, and for the next 53 years it was used as a home for telephone operator girls in the 1920's, an orphanage for children, and an apartment building.


In 1972 a young couple began restoring it to a private home. They were the 49th owner of the mansion. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. A retired couple acquired the mansion in 1976 and did extensive restoration with the focus on the exterior and surrounding grounds. They opened the home to the public for touring in 1976.


In 2000, the third generation of caretakers began the next phase of the restoration of the mansion. They had moved here from California. As specialists in Victorian restoration they returned the interior back to an 1880's décor. The mansion was home to one of the finest collections of American Victorian furnishings in the state, until 2009 when they decided to sell the home and all the furnishings. A couple from California purchased the home and is now using it as a private residence.


It is no longer open to the public for tours.


Hours: Now a Private Home, No Tours
Address: W. First at Vine

Come visit us in Abilene, Kansas

Attractions and Upcoming Events

Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum & Boyhood Home

Built by the Eisenhower Foundation, with funds raised through public gifts, the Eisenhower Museum is constructed of Kansas limestone. Originally dedicated on Veterans Day, 1954, the Museum was built to house the materials and objects related to Dwight D. Eisenhower's life. It contains over 30,000

Abilene, KS Museums

The Heritage Center Museums

The Museum depicts life on the plains during the American pioneer movement & westward expansion periods. Exhibits include Indians, pioneers, railroad, agriculture, Victorian and cowtown eras.

Abilene, KS Museums

Museum of Independent Telephony

The Museum of Independent Telephony shares a building with the Dickinson County Historical Society and Museum. It was in Abilene that Cleyson L. Brown, a local youth, built and operated a telephone exchange in 1898

Abilene, KS Museums

Great Plains Theatre

"Kansas' premier professional theatre company", is housed in the Great Plains Theatre, a 100

Abilene, KS Theatres

Abilene Civic Center

The restored 1928 U.P. Depot is home to the Kansas Visitor Information Center and 150 person meeting room.

History Of The Abilene Civic Center

California architect, Gilbert Stanley Underwood designed Abilene'

Abilene, KS Historic Buildings

Things to do Famous Homes near Abilene, KS

Plumb Place

Carrie Plumb was the widow of Emporia Founder and United States Senator Preston B. Plumb. She built the house in 1895 around ...

Turner Residence

This home was built in the 1880s also. Up until recent years it housed Alma's funeral home, with the funeral director living ...

Walter P. Chrysler birthplace

Wamego is the birthplace of Walter P. Chrysler, the founder of the Chrysler Corporation. Chrysler artifacts can be found in t...

Kindergarten School/Schrader Residence

This house was located in the middle of several lots, but at the same general location years ago, perhaps in the early 1880s....

Samuel N. Wood Home

The Sam Wood House (also known as the Nelson Ranch), the original part was built in the 1860's and is now known as "Buck Cree...