Lanier Mansion

The Lanier Mansion is the 1844 Greek Revival home of James F. D. Lanier, located at 601 West First Street in the Madison Historic District of Madison, Indiana. The home was designed by architect Francis Costigan of Madison.HistoryThe mansion was built in strict accordance with the Greek Revival style of architecture. Testimony to this is that the right door on a pair of doors opens only into a wall; the right door was necessary so that the left door would have a match.Lanier only lived at the property for seven years, afterward he moved to New York. In 1861 his son Alexander moved into the home, and lived there until 1895. It would remain with the family until 1917 when James' youngest son Charles gave it as the Lanier Memorial Museum to Jefferson County Historical Society. In 1925 the society, with the family's blessing, gave control of it to the state, which promptly opened it publicly as a historic house museum. It is located in the Madison Historic District.