Auburn Heights Mansion & Marshall Steam Museum

Address 3000 Creek Road Yorklyn, DE 19736

Phone: (302) 239-2385

Auburn Heights Mansion & Marshall Steam Museum — Delaware’s Victorian Estate and the World’s Largest Collection of Operating Steam Cars

A Queen Anne Mansion, a Steam-Powered Automotive Collection, and a Coal-Fired Miniature Railroad — All Within Auburn Valley State Park

Tucked into the Red Clay Creek valley in Yorklyn, Delaware — less than five minutes from the center of Hockessin — Auburn Heights Mansion and the Marshall Steam Museum offer one of the most genuinely surprising cultural experiences in the state. Where else can you tour an impeccably preserved 1897 Victorian mansion, climb into a fully operational Stanley steam automobile, and then ride a coal-fired 1/8-scale steam railroad through rolling farmland? The answer is: only here.

The Marshall Steam Museum and Auburn Heights Mansion are open Thursday and Friday, 1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. Mansion tours depart promptly at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. from the front porch — late arrivals miss the tour.

The museum and mansion are closed Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for regular visits, as well as on major holidays including Good Friday, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. Steamin’ Days — the signature public event with rides, demonstrations, and full access — are held on the first Sunday of each month from June through November, 12:30–4:30 p.m.

Admission: $8/adult, $4/child (ages 12 and under) for either the mansion or museum. Tour both in one visit for $14/adult and $7/child. No advance registration required for Thursday/Friday visits. Always verify current hours and seasonal closures at auburnheights.org before visiting.

The Marshall Family and Auburn Heights

In 1897, Israel and Elizabeth “Lizzie” Marshall built their Queen Anne-style mansion on a hilltop overlooking the Marshall Brothers Paper Mill along Red Clay Creek in Yorklyn, Delaware. Construction took ten months and cost approximately $11,500 — an extraordinary sum at the time, when a typical middle-class home cost around $1,000. The result was a three-story, eight-bedroom home featuring indoor plumbing, electric lighting, and steam heat — amenities that were genuinely unusual for the era.

Auburn Heights remained in the Marshall family for over a century, passing through three generations. Israel’s son, T. Clarence Marshall, built the museum building in 1947 to house his growing collection of antique automobiles. Clarence’s son, Tom Marshall, continued that legacy and, in 1997, founded the “Steam Team” — a group of enthusiasts dedicated to learning to operate and maintain steam-powered vehicles. That group evolved into the Friends of Auburn Heights, a nonprofit organization established in 2004.

In 2008, Tom and Ruth Marshall made a remarkable gift: they donated the estate land and mansion buildings to the State of Delaware — which incorporated them into Auburn Valley State Park, Delaware’s 17th state park — while donating the extraordinary vehicle collection to the Friends of Auburn Heights to maintain and operate in perpetuity. The estate’s character and furnishings have been carefully preserved, so that touring the mansion today means experiencing a home that looks very much as it did when the Marshall family lived there.

The Marshall Steam Museum: A World-Class Collection in an Unexpected Place

The Marshall Steam Museum houses the world’s largest operating collection of Stanley steam cars — the dominant alternative to gasoline-powered automobiles at the dawn of the automotive age. Steam cars were actually outselling gasoline vehicles in 1900, and the Stanley was their most refined expression. The collection here offers a genuine window into a road not taken in automotive history.

The full vehicle collection includes:

• Multiple Stanley steam cars in operating condition, including some of the rarest surviving examples
• A 1901 Mobile steamer — one of the earliest mass-produced steam automobiles
• A 1914 Model T — the gasoline competitor that ultimately won the market
• A 1916 Rauch and Lang electric car — a reminder that the early auto industry was a genuine three-way race between steam, gasoline, and electric power
• Two 1930s Packards — representing the luxury gasoline automobile at its pre-war peak

The museum also features scale-size steam locomotives, standard-gauge Lionel electric trains from the 1930s, and a working player piano — the kind of sensory overload that turns a planned one-hour visit into an afternoon.

Steamin’ Days: The Full Auburn Heights Experience

Regular Thursday and Friday visits offer access to the mansion and museum, but Steamin’ Days — held on the first Sunday of each month from June through November — unlock the full Auburn Heights experience. These events add:

• Rides in antique steam automobiles — passengers can actually travel in operating steam cars on the estate grounds
• Auburn Valley Railroad — 1/8-scale coal-fired and diesel trains that circle the property, carrying passengers of all ages
• Gauge 1 outdoor live steam displays by the Aikenback Live Steamers and the Yorklyn Valley Railroad
• Firing Up Demonstration at 1:30 p.m. — watching a steam car build pressure and come to life is a genuine spectacle
• Kids’ activities, craft projects, free popcorn, food vendors, and Woodside Farm Creamery ice cream
• Optional mansion tours during the event

Admission for Steamin’ Days events is separate from regular visit pricing — check the website for current Steamin’ Day rates. No advance tickets are required; cash and credit cards are accepted at the gate.

Auburn Valley State Park: Beyond the Museum

The museum and mansion sit within the 360-acre Auburn Valley State Park, which offers four distinct trails ranging from a paved accessible loop to gravel paths following the historic mill race and old trolley lines:

• Auburn Valley Trail — 1.2-mile paved loop with rolling farm views
• Trolley Trail — 0.5-mile gravel path following the old trolley line along the mill race
• Yorklyn Bridge Trail — connected to the Auburn Valley Trail via the Marshall Family Bridge
• Oversee Farm Trail — accessible from Snuff Mill Road, passing the historic farmhouse and bank barn

The Red Clay Creek, which runs through the park, was once heavily polluted by industrial zinc runoff from the National Vulcanized Fiber plant operations downstream. After years of environmental remediation, the creek today is healthy and stocked with trout each spring — an ecological recovery story worth knowing.

Accessibility: The museum building is fully accessible to visitors with disabilities. The historic mansion involves multiple interior and exterior steps and may not be accessible for visitors with mobility limitations. Call ahead to discuss arrangements if needed.

Auburn Heights in the Delaware Cultural Landscape

Auburn Heights pairs naturally with Mt. Cuba Center (botanical garden, Hockessin), the Ashland Nature Center, and the Wilmington and Western Railroad — all within a few miles — for a full day exploring the natural and cultural heritage of the northern New Castle County countryside. It sits near the Pennsylvania border, making it equally convenient for visitors from Chester County and the Brandywine Valley.