Long as his private family estate, with the four-story historic Beaux-Arts style mansion named Corinthian Hall.

Early in 1951, taxidermy specimen displays expanded into the basement, along with mineralogical exhibits of fossils, rocks, and minerals.

[5] During its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, the museum housed hundreds of stuffed animals in lifelike dioramas and offered various presentations and classes in taxidermy.

By the 1970s, museum staff realized that the building was too small for its potential in local history and science and began to split it.

[6][7] In January 2008, the primary buildings of the museum—the residence and carriage house—closed for major renovations[8] of roofing, masonry, art glass, energy efficient windows, elevator, and HVAC.