Riverview at Hobson Grove

The Hobson House, an Italianate mansion, was partially constructed before the Civil War. Col. William Hobson, son of builder Atwood Hobson and the youngest Union colonel on record, requested that Brig. Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner, commanding Southern officer during the Confederate occupation of Bowling Green, spare the property. Buckner filled the basement of the unfinished mansion with Confederate ammunition. Atwood Hobson, one of the most ardent Union supporters in southern Kentucky, brought a French military professor to his home for the purpose of instructing William and his contemporaries in French military tactics. Atwood, president of a local bank, borrowed $30,000 to advance the Union cause. He also purchased 300 rifles to arm local citizens against the Confederates.