Walking Tours & Museum Exhibits
Book a walking tour for your group and experience history up close. Discover the personal side of historic Waynesville, its early people, its buildings, its legends and myths, when you select one of these tours. A guided Museum tour is $5 per person; all other tours are $10.
The Famous and Infamous of Main Street
Walk along Main Street and learn local stories about our famous and not-so-famous early residents and our historic buildings. Hear the legends of an early academy of higher learning, a distillery, taverns, and other buildings believed to be haunted.
Miami Cemetery and its Famous Residents
Founded in 1966 and designed in a park-like setting by Leopold Weltz, landscape architect to Alexander III of Russia, the Miami Cemetery is the resting place of relatives of Abraham Lincoln, Betsy Ross, the Wright Brothers, and many other prominent families.
Historic Quaker District
Located along this two-block area are the 1905 Friends Boarding Home (now the Museum at the Friends Home), the White Brick Meeting House, the Red Brick Meeting House, Quaker cemetery, and Quaker school. Learn why the Quakers came to this area in 1799. This tour includes the interior of the White Brick Meeting Home and the museum.
Civil War Soldiers and Early Pioneers
The Waynesville area sent many men to serve in Civil War regiments such as the 79th Ohio Infantry. Hear the untold stories of these brave soldiers, and how the early pioneers struggled to settle in this area. A guided tour of the Museum at the Friends Home is included.
Museum at the Friends Home
Operating as a Quaker boarding house from 1905-1999, this 19-bedroom facility now houses the Waynesville Area Heritage and Cultural Center, which operates the museum. Exhibits highlight the early days of Waynesville, Quaker history, and dedicated rooms on other Warren County communities such as Lytle, Corwin, and New Burlington.
Ghostly Walking Tours
Peaceful, quaint - haunted? Shiver at first and second-hand accounts of ghostly encounters in quiet Waynesville while strolling through downtown or the historic Quaker Hill area by lamplight. Walking tours are available April through November. In October, special ghost-themed dinners are offered at the historic Hammel House Inn in downtown Waynesville, in conjunction with the walking tour. Reservations are required. A self-guided tour of the Museum at the Friends Home is included.