By Brooke Westcott Peterson
Executive Director, Riverview at Hobson Grove
In the summer of 1965, descendants of Atwood Hobson stood next to a hole in the floor of a second-floor bedroom in the family home. They could peer all the way down into the basement and survey the damage caused by a fire the previous winter. The abandoned home—its windows boarded and the grounds overgrown—gave few hints of its 19th-century grandeur. The reluctant conclusion of the family was that Riverview at Hobson Grove was beyond repair. Thankfully, fate had other plans.
Today, visitors from around the world come to Riverview at Hobson Grove Historic House Museum to learn about its association with the Civil War, the family who called it home, and the impressive restoration carried out by the first board of directors 50 years ago.
Atwood Gaines Hobson, having acquired 400 acres of farmland on the outskirts of Bowling Green, began work on his estate in 1857. Handmade bricks were fired on the site, and the walls of the home’s basement began to take shape. However, with the start of the Civil War, progress halted. Hobson, a strong Union supporter, thought quickly when Confederate forces took control of Bowling Green. Hobson sent a message to Confederate Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner, who had served in Mexico with his brother, Edward Henry Hobson, and asked that the partially built house be spared. Buckner put the structure to use as a munitions magazine and had soldiers stationed on the property. After the war, the Hobsons vied with other Bowling Green citizens for building materials. Because of the shortage, the home wasn’t completed until 1872.
The Hobson farm became noted for its Thoroughbred horses. Although Thoroughbred farms typically are associated with the Lexington area, the Hobsons ran a successful operation in Bowling Green.
For nearly 80 years, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren enjoyed gathering in the home. Atwood and Juliette Hobson’s youngest son, George, left the property in 1950, when he was in his mid-80s. Following the family’s departure, Riverview at Hobson Grove was home to tenant farmer families. During this period, the house fell into serious disrepair, and water from a leaking roof caused a great deal of damage to the decoratively painted plaster parlor ceilings, once the showpiece of the home. The old Hobson House, its plaster crumbling and roof leaking, still did not have electricity and proper indoor plumbing. A gentleman from Franklin (in Simpson County) purchased the property to farm the 400 acres and tried to present the home to his niece as a wedding present. Seeing how much work the structure needed, she declined his offer.
In October 1965, the city of Bowling Green purchased the dilapidated house for $1 and acquired 200 of the family’s 400 acres to form Hobson Grove Park and Golf Course on the west side of town. Riverview at Hobson Grove was to be demolished to make way for a new golf course clubhouse. However, local citizens with family and social ties to the house—including Atwood and Juliette’s granddaughter, Margaret Hobson—banded together to form the first Hobson House Association board. Their purpose was to save the old home and run it as a historic house museum. In 1966, the city of Bowling Green received a United States Department of Housing and Urban Development grant for half of the restoration costs. The remarkable group of citizens who formed the first board spent 1966-1972 raising funds and fully restoring Riverview at Hobson Grove to share with the public. Because of their efforts, Riverview at Hobson Grove Historic House Museum opened in 1972, 100 years after the Hobson family moved into their showplace next to the Barren River. For 50 years, it has been a great joy to share this historic treasure with visitors from around the world.
Set within a tranquil city park, the Italianate-style historical house museum greets visitors from its perch on Hobson’s Hill. Among the first features guests will observe are the arched windows and doors, deep bracketed eaves, and a cupola atop the building. The cupola served a clever purpose in the Hobson home. On hot, humid summer days, the symmetrical windows and doors could be opened for cross breezes, and the hot air would be sucked up into the cupola and out its opened windows. The home includes two parlors, a dining room, a study, four bedrooms, a water closet and a full basement, where the original kitchen was housed.
While building the home, Atwood Hobson met itinerate artist Fritz Leiber and invited him to paint the plaster walls and ceilings of the mansion’s front and back parlors. Extensive restoration work in the past two years has brought these rooms back to their original splendor. Using a combination of historical photographs, sanding and paint removal, the talented restoration artist has mapped and recreated the striking designs on the ceilings and walls to recreate what Atwood and Juliette Hobson would have enjoyed 150 years ago. Additionally, Leiber used similar techniques to restore the decorative wood graining in the two parlors, which now mimics walnut and birdseye maple, as it did in 1872.
Join in for the celebration of 50 years of Riverview at Hobson Grove with a candlelight tour on Saturday, Dec. 10, 4:30-7:30 p.m. Costumed docents will take visitors back in time to learn about Victorian Christmas traditions as they move throughout the home beautifully lit by candles and antique lamps.
This tour is free to the public, although donations are appreciated. Parking will be at the bottom of the hill at the ballpark and golf course, with shuttles provided to Riverview. The gift shop will be open, and complimentary refreshments will be provided. Guests can purchase a souvenir photo of their group.
Scheduled tours of the Riverview at Hobson Grove are available through Dec. 10.
They are given on the hour, Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., and Sunday, 1-3 p.m.
Riverview at Hobson Grove | 1100 West Main Avenue | Bowling Green | 270.843.5565 | bgky.org/riverview