Johnston House

The Johnston Farm and Rose Hill….are together perhaps the most important spot in American agriculture.
—Liberty Hyde Bailey, Cornell University, 1893

Due to a rehabilitation project the Johnston House and Mike Weaver Drain Tile Museum will be closed for the 2023 season.

Built by Scotch immigrant John Johnston in 1822, the house is located on the original land where Johnston became a well-known advocate of improved farming techniques. He was the first farmer in the United States to use agricultural drain tiles to increase productivity on his farm, and it became one of the most famous farms in 19th-century America.

Home to the Johnston family from 1822-1877, the Johnston House includes furnished period rooms and exhibits on technology and innovation, immigration, and agriculture, which connect the Johnston family’s experience in the region and contemporary concerns.

The site also includes the Mike Weaver Drain Tile Museum, which contains a comprehensive collection of drain tiles dating from ancient times to the present.

To learn more about tile drainage, watch this video.

To discover the connection between Rose Hill Mansion and Johnston House, watch this video.