EveryMuseum.com - Bob Evans Farm / The Homestead Museum

The Homestead Museum
A Sense of Heritage, History and Family

It's a first-hand look at the heritage of a company, an entrepreneur and his family and the history of the region. The Bob Evans Homestead Museum has become a popular tourist destination which brings the past to the present in its life-like displays.

Visitors to the Homestead Museum may;

sit at the reconstructed counter of the original Steak House owned by Bob Evans,
see life-size models of Bob and Jewell Evans, filming their television commercials in their original kitchen,
view these commercials on an old television console or through the lens of an actual television camera of the era and follow the displays as the 53-year history of the business unfolds, with its dreams and goals, personalities, challenges, growth and success.

Built in the early 1820s the Homestead served as a stagecoach stop and an inn during its early years. Renovated to become the museum in 2003, it is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Diamonds in the Rough: The Legacy of Coal Mining in Ohio's Hill Country
Throughout 2006, the Homestead Museum will house this exhibit, which allows visitors to witness the story of the "coal boom" in this region. First mined only along riverbanks and streams, "black diamonds" were shipped to market on riverboats and canals during the early years of Ohio's statehood. With stories of immigrants finding new opportunities in America, the creation of mining communities and company towns, bittersweet tales of a boom-to-bust economy and mine disasters, and the nationally significant role played by Ohio miners, it's a "don't miss experience" for all ages.

Bob Evans, founder of the company, lived on the Bob Evans Farm in southeastern Ohio for nearly 20 years. He and his wife, Jewell, raised their six children in the large brick farmhouse known as the Homestead. The Homestead, now on the National Register of Historic Places, was once a stagecoach stop and an inn, so the spirit of hospitality is deeply embedded in our company's history. Today, the Homestead serves as a company museum and historical center.

Exciting events like the annual Rio Grande Bean Dinner as well as the Bob Evans Farm Festival keep people coming back to the farm.

The first Bob Evans Restaurant opened on the Bob Evans Farm in Rio Grande, Ohio. Visit the place where it all began for down-on-the-farm activities, festivals and fun!