Mourning Otis: A Special Tour of Rose Hill Mansion
October 18, 2025, 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Robbie and Otis Swan, 1864 (Otis is wearing the dress).
On Saturday, October 18 and 25 at 6 and 7:30 p.m. Historic Geneva will offer special tours about death and mourning at Rose Hill Mansion in the 1800s.
At that time, illness and death were part of everyday life. Few families were spared from loss, including the Swan family who lived at Rose Hill from 1850 to 1890. Their five-year-old son Otis died in September 1864 from rheumatic fever. During the one-hour tour, visitors will explore 19th-century Victorian ideas about death, illness, and mourning practices. The mansion will be dressed in mourning for Otis. A casket will be on display in the front parlor, while the windows and mirrors will be draped in black fabric in the mourning style of the 1800s. There will also be mourning items from Historic Geneva’s collection on view and following the tour, visitors can enjoy refreshments in the mansion's kitchen.
The Carriage House Gift Shop will be open for the event.
Admission is $12. The tour is recommended for adults and children 10 years and older. Space on the tour is limited, and advance tickets are required. Tickets can be purchased online. Visitors should also bring a flashlight. For more information, call Historic Geneva at 315-789-5151.
Historic Geneva programming is supported in part by the ESL Charitable Foundation.
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