It is an era bygone but not forgotten from a gilded age in Riverside's history.

Owned by the Riverside Metropolitan Museum, this 1891 Victorian showplace depicts life in turn-of-the century Riverside.

An elegant reminder of the affluent homes which once graced Magnolia Avenue, Heritage House began as a project of the Riverside Metropolitan Museum Associates, a volunteer support group of the Riverside Metropolitan Museum.

Restored and maintained in a manner reflective of its nineteenth-century construction, this grand house is now a meticulously researched example of historic tastes, values, and lifestyle.

Mr. and Mrs. James Bettner settled in Riverside in the late 1870s, within a decade of the young town's founding.

A Place - A Time . . .

According to an 1895 article in Harper’s Bazar magazine, young couples of moderate means could expect to spend between $5000 and $10,000 in the construction of a house, excluding the cost of a lot. Restoration and development have always reflected the interpretation of such statistics into a local household.

The Bradstreet Index, in 1895, recognized Riverside as enjoying the highest per capita income in the United States. Citizens were indeed prosperous, thanks largely to citrus horticulture, but they were not millionaires. Catharine Bettner's net worth in 1892, for instance, was $18,755 or more than $200,000 adjusted to today's values.