Vaile Mansion-Independence, Missouri

The same afternoon that we visited the Marshal Museum and Jail in Independence Missouri, my boyfriend and I hopped in the car and drove to the Vaile Mansion. All I had seen online was that the Vaile was a HUGE Victorian mansion dating back to the 1880's. In one of my college courses, we had discussed the Victorian era and even visited a Victorian house as a 'field trip'. I was excited to compare the one I saw in small town Iowa to this mansion in Missouri. It was starting to rain as we pulled up so I quickly snapped a picture of the outside of the mansion then sought refuge inside. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to step back and take a proper picture of the mansion, but I'm still happy with the one I got:

We signed our names in the guest book and waited for the next tour. The ladies that worked there were all very nice and our tour guide was very knowledgeable. The tour took us to the 'gentleman's parlor' on the left side of the house, and in somewhat of a circle, making sure that we covered all the rooms on the lower level. The rooms were all incredibly beautiful decorated just as it might have looked when the Vailes would have lived in it. My favorite part was the upstairs rooms. We walked up a beautiful staircase and were greeted by a beautiful wide hallway:

Unfortunately, the third floor was roped off. I would have LOVED to see what was up there. (In the far background where those Christmas lights are, that's the gift shop which connected to the far bedroom) The Vaile mansion was complete with working bathrooms, which were VERY rare for its time. The upstairs also housed an impressive library and study. The two bedrooms on the left to the stairs were very ornate. The ceiling in the master bedroom has a painting that from what our tour guide told us, was very controversial for the time. It features a woman laying rather suggestively. The painting was done by an Italian artist and was called, 'Innocence'.

From reading the handout I took from the mansion, Mr. Vaile and Mrs. Vaile were well traveled. Their home was inspired by a French home they saw while on a trip to Europe. Mr. Vaile enjoyed the finer things in life and was a patron of the fine arts. This is why the mansion is so ornate. He imported French, Italian and German artists to hand decorate the thirteen foot ceilings in the house. The mansion was completed in 1881 for a total cost of $150,000. The house originally was built on 55 acres with many outbuildings. It had large working water tanks and indoor flushing toilets. It has 31 rooms and 9 marble fireplaces. Here is a picture of just one marble fireplace in the mansion. This one was located in one of the upstairs bedrooms:

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my step back into time at the Vaile mansion. The tour was enjoyable, and I learned a lot. The tour cost us $6.00 each, but it was well worth it. It was also nice to see a Victorian mansion on a much larger scale than the one I visited in Iowa. Go! You won't regret it! http://www.vailemansion.org/Welcome.html