Welcome Tour Planners

We welcome group tours, large or small! Special rates are available for groups of 10+ who book at least a week ahead of time. Group rate also requires the group to pay together, rather than individually. 

Tours can be tailored to your group’s special interests or time requirements and can sometimes be operated outside of our normal hours.

The below information is tailored for adult tours, including college-age. Please see our Field Trip page for more information on school tours for elementary through high school.

 McDowell House Tour

The McDowell House features an hour long tour with personal tour guide(s) for your group! Your visitors will see our fully furnished historic house and apothecary and hear the story of the famous surgery. 

Please call (859) 236-2804 or e-mail mcdowellhouse1@att.net to book. Group rate tours cannot be booked on our website.

Rates (10+):

Adults and Seniors (19+): $5.00 Each

Colleges and Medical Training Programs: $4.00 Each

Elementary – High School Students: $2.50 Each

Children 4 and Under: Free (with adult admission)

Constitution Square Tour 

McDowell House is  located directly across the street from Constitution Square, a public open air museum and park with four pioneer style cabins (a jail, courthouse, meeting house, and post office) and many historic markers. We can take your group on a 30-40 minute personally guided tour.

Please call (859) 236-2804 or e-mail mcdowellhouse1@att.net to book. The group tour cannot be booked on our website, and must be booked at least a week ahead of time. Since this is an outdoor attraction, please keep the season and weather in mind.

Adults and Seniors (19+): $3.00 Each

Youth and Children (5-18): $2.00 Each

Children 4 and Under: Free (with adult admission)

 FAQ

Where can we eat lunch? 

So many options! We are within 2 blocks of The Hub Coffee Shop & Cafe, Dry Stack Roastery and Coffee Bar, and the Red Rooster Cafe.  Bluegrass Pizza and Pub, Cooper and Oak, Melton’s Deli, and Subway are also close. 

Weather permitting, there are also public picnic tables located at Constitution Square.

Where can we use the restroom?

There are public restrooms at Constitution Square, right across the street from McDowell House.

What else is there to do downtown? 

Shopping down our Main Street boutiques, exhibits at the Arts Center of the Bluegrass, and picturesque Centre College are all within walking distance.

There is also historic Bellevue Cemetery (Judge Samuel McDowell and his wife are buried here), and McDowell Park (where Ephraim and Sarah McDowell are buried).

Where can we park or unload our group? 

There is a small parking lot for visitors on the Walnut St. side of Constitution Square. It is free and has no time limit, but large buses may need to repark due to space. There is also free 2-hour parking on the street in front of McDowell House. 

Is the museum handicapped accessible? 

McDowell House is partially accessible to guests in wheelchairs. There are ramps to the first floor of the house. The 2nd floor and the apothecary shop are viewable by video. A closed-captioned video is also available for the hearing impaired.

Is there a gift shop? 

Yes, there is a gift shop and visitors center located in Constitution Square!

Please contact us at (859) 236-2804 or mcdowellhouse1@att.net. We are happy to answer any other questions you might have.