Your

Smith McDowell House Museum Tour

Asheville History Center at Smith-McDowell House

283 Victoria Rd Asheville, NC 28801

253-9231 www.wnchistory.org

education@wnchistory.org

Before your visit…

Familiarize yourself and your students with the Smith McDowell House Museum by showing the on-line presentation at http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/smithmcdowell-1440995-school-pre-visit-power-point/

Teach your students about museum manners:

1. Don’t touch items on display unless your tour guide (docent) asks you to handle something. There are oils and dirt on your skin that can damage and cause deterioration to old items, especially wood and metal. Museum workers usually wear cotton gloves when handling these items. 2. When entering a room with your docent, hold your questions until he/she has had a chance to introduce you to the room and explain (interpret) items in the room. 3. Allow others to come to the front to be able to see after you have had your chance. 4. Absolutely no food, drinks, candy or chewing gum while on the tour!

Use one or two of the following lesson plans as an introduction to the Victorian Period, museums and resources.

Lesson One The Victorian Age

Ask the following questions of your students and lead them to these answers? What do we mean by the term Victorian?

While the Victorian Era is a name for the period from 1837 to 1901 in the United Kingdom, American Victorianism was an offshoot of this period and lifestyle that occurred in the United States, chiefly in heavily populated regions such as New England from roughly 1875 to 1910 after the Civil War. The name was derived from the reign of Queen Victoria, which reflected the heavy British cultural influence on the nation during the time. As American business people of the Second Industrial Revolution created sprawling industrial towns and cities in the Northeast, the growing upper class of the Gilded Age mimicked the high society of their former mother country in dress, morality, and mannerisms. The period included various activities- the Second Industrial Revolution, the Women's suffrage movement, and Republican political domination.

How were the wealthy different from the middle-class?

Wealthy families were always striving to keep ahead of the middle-class as the middle-class continually tried to imitate those who were wealthier. In the mid 1800s only the rich owned privet carriages, but by the 1840s the middle class had begun to imitate this behavior. The rich then began to move to the suburbs called, "uptown," to get away from the noise, congestion, crowds, and dirt of the inner cities. The rich also begin to winter in warm states, like Florida. As this behavior begins to catch on in the middle class in the 1900s, the rich begin to vacation overseas in Europe.

These old rich did not just show off for the middle class, there was also heavy competition among themselves. Houses in Victorian America were elaborate fantastical affairs with a combination of different architectural styles. Turrets, gables, bright colors, false fronts and false chimneys were common. The rich also competed in the community to prove their wealth. Unlike in Europe, all arts funding was through private donations and not government funding. These wealthy people donated money to found opera houses, symphony orchestras and art museums. The rich also funded charities and institutions such as hospitals and colleges.

The Industrial Revolution was partly responsible for the lifestyle of the wealthy. Through the Industrial Revolution there arose a body of new rich who threatened the status of the old rich. Culturally these new rich were very different. To distance themselves from the new rich, the old rich created "society" made up of "proper families." The new rich could not easily join society, except perhaps in New York City where they could buy their way in, but their children could if they married into an old family.

What about the architecture of the Victorian period?

Architecture of the Victorian era was very elaborate, romantic, and emotional. The architecture of the house advertised the amount of money that the owner had. Houses were very large with many small rooms: each room had a particular function "a place for everything and everything in its place." Houses had ballrooms, morning rooms, sitting rooms, libraries, piano rooms... Houses often were set in the middle or towards the back of lots. The exteriors of houses were often brightly colored with false fronts and false chimneys. The interiors were dark with heavy drapes, dark wood, dark wall paper, and wall to wall carpeting. Many houses had two hallways and two staircases, one grand for company, and one plain for the children and servants. The staircase for guests allowed for dramatic entrances. The back halls and private rooms were not decorative and plain with whitewash and plain wood floors. The public areas of the house were displays of wealth and virtue. With the industrial era had come materialism and Victorian houses were correspondingly larger. The Victorians also despised pragmatism and hid the functions of furnishings.

Why doesn’t the Smith McDowell House look more like this house?

The Smith McDowell House was built by James Smith in 1848. As a wealthy businessman, he wanted to build a house that represented his wealth and standing in the community. The architectural style that was popular at that time was the Georgian style, with a large front porch (or porches) and made of brick. The floor plan of his house, also

popular at the time was called a double pile plan, with 4 rooms on each floor, all the same size with a wide hallway down the middle.

By 1860, the house belonged to his daughter and her husband (who has been Mr. Smith’s business partner), Sarah Lucinda and William Wallace McDowell. They sell in the 1880s to Mr. Alexander Garrett. Other owners follow during the Victorian period and of course, they would have followed all the popular cultural mores of the day.

What were the roles of servants in a wealthy Victorian home?

Movies like GosfordPark, Remains of the Day, and Berkeley Square and TV shows such as Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton Abbey are great resources for understanding the intricate lives of servants in the 1800's and 1900's. A rigid set of rules dictated when they arose, bathed, ate, who they spoke to, and how they dressed. For example at mealtimes, the Upper Servants; Butler, Housekeeper, Cook, Valet, and Lady's Maid met in the Housekeeper's room and filed into the servant's hall in order of station. The Butler sat at the head of the table, and the Housekeeper took a seat at the opposite end. The male servants sat in order of position on one side and the female servants down the other, but only after the Butler gave them permission. He would carve the meat and send the plate to the Housekeeper who served the vegetables. The Second Footman took the plates round to each servant in order of seniority. After dinner, the Upper Servants retired for coffee and fine desserts in the Housekeepers Room while the Lower Servants; Footman, House, Kitchen, and Scullery Maids washed up after the meal.

Considered the most senior servant, the Butler existed as "Mr. Jennings" to the servants and "Jennings" to his employer (names used are for examples). He presided over the male staff, supervised the footmen in their serving of meals, the wine cellar, the "plate" (or family silverware,) and each morning ironed his Master's newspaper. The Butler would be the one to take a gentleman or lady visitor directly into the drawing room whilst making sure that the tradesman, workers, or other staff waited in the hall. He would oversee the setting of the table, trimming candlewicks, filling lamps with oil, and cleaning the silver. The last duty of the day would be to check that all fires and lights were safely damped out and all doors locked. In 1872, a Butler would earn $750 a year.

The senior female servant, the Housekeeper supervised the hiring and firing of the woman staff. Referred to as "Mrs" whether married or not, she looked after the household accounts, purchased supplies, cured, bottled, and preserved food. She met daily with the Lady of the house to go over the books and preside over the Servant's Tea, using that time to relay any necessary information to members of the staff. Easy to identify, the Housekeeper wore a black silk uniform and large set of keys safely at her waist. Her last duty in the evening would be to oversee the washing and storing of the dinner china. In 1872, she would have earned $300 a year.

The Lady's Maid , called "Miss" whether married or not, (or her mistress could choose to call her by her Christian name. Her main responsibilities consisted of attending to her Ladyship's grooming, dressing, packing and laying out her clothes, washing and repairing undergarments, and fixing her hair in the latest fashion. The Lady's Maid would also oversee the tidying of her Ladyships' boudoir. At times considered a sort of companion to her mistress and yet treated as a servant, she lived a lonely life. Being better educated than the average maid, permitted to wear her mistress' cast off clothing, and served breakfast each morning by a Second Housemaid, the other maids often resented her. Her last duty would be to wait up until her ladyship retired to assist in undressing, loosening, and brushing her hair. In 1872, she would have earned $150 a year.

A Valet would look after his master's clothing ensuring his wardrobe remained in good order. Sometimes referred to as a gentleman's gentleman, his job consisted of laying out clothing, keeping shoes and hats clean and in good repair, standing behind his employer at dinner, running his bath, and traveling with him. He also had the precarious responsibly of shaving his master with an open cut-throat razor. His last duty would be to wait up until his Lordship retired to assist in his undressing. In 1872, he would have earned $300.

Many Cooks supervised large staffs to produce three sometimes four elaborate meals a day for the Family and to impress guests. She met daily with the Lady of the house to discuss menus as a minimum of six courses were expected and up to twenty-two could be served on special occasions. In addition, the Cook would be required to provide food for nursery meals, cricket teas, picnics, and dinner parties. The last duty of the day would be to prepare the Family's evening meal. In 1872, a male cook would have earned $500, a female cook $350.

Housemaids kept the estate immaculate, bedrooms supplied with water for washing, bathing, and insured fires continued to burn. They scrubbed and emptied chamber pots, drew curtains, turned down beds, dusted and polished, cleaned bedrooms, and tidied the public rooms. She also served the Housekeeper her morning tea. The last job of the evening would be to fill hot water bottles and place them in the Family's and Upper Servants beds to warm them. In 1872, they earned they earned $100-150.

Nannies cared and dressed the younger members of the family. Took children on excursions to get plenty of fresh air and would be assisted by nursery maids. In larger establishments, a footman would be assigned to the nursery. Nanny slept in the nursery in a separate room next to her charges.

The Governess taught children until the boys left for boarding school. The girls remained in the schoolroom. Although a Governess would have the demeanor and deportment of a lady, usually educated cultured, properly mannered and well bred as well as young and fresh faced, they were treated as servants, because of this, they were often very lonely. There lady-like deportment often created romances in the family.

Lesson Two Craft Activity

Make a Victorian decoration – for Christmas or other season Supplies: Tag board (like plain index cards or poster board) Victorian Images (Christmas cards are a great source and you won’t need tag board!) Glue – white glue and glue sticks Glitter – gold, silver (or use glitter glue) Hole punch Ornament hangers or fancy thread/yarn for hanging Directions:

1. Choose an image of your choice and carefully cut it out, following the outline of the image or leaving some around the edges.

2. Glue the image to tag board 3. Cut the tag board, leaving about ¼” edge outside of the image 4. Using hole punch, make a hole at the top, making sure you allow for

that ¼” border 5. Run a bead of glue along the edge of the tag board and shake glitter

along the edges. (or use glitter glue) 6. Allow to dry overnight. 7. Insert ornament hanger or thread loop

Hint for images: Do a Google image search for: victorian clip art www.dover.com is also a great source of Victorian art

Questions to be thinking about during your visit…

Keep in mind that there were no indoor bathrooms or gaslights in the house until after 1890 would you have liked living here? Look over the kitchen carefully, do you see items here that you also have at home? Are there items that you do have that you do not see here? As you come up from the kitchen, imagine what it would have been like to go up those stairs carrying a large tray of food and/or dishes. With so much concern today about cleanliness, washing hands and using hand sanitizer, etc. how do you think people of this past stayed healthy? What relief was there for you if you got sick? If you were a servant in this house what would you probably be? How do you suppose people spent evenings in this house? When do you suppose they went to bed? How long would it have taken to travel into downtown Asheville by horse? by wagon? by walking?

After your visit… Create essays and writings based on the above questions or prompts of your own. Read a portion of Dicken’s A Christmas Carol or other Victorian prose of poetry: Significant Victorian novelists and poets include: Matthew Arnold, the Brontë sisters, (Emily, Anne and Charlotte Brontë), Christina Rossetti, Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Joseph Conrad, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Lewis Carroll, Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens, Benjamin Disraeli, George Eliot, George Meredith, Elizabeth Gaskell, George Gissing, Thomas Hardy, A. E. Housman, Rudyard Kipling, Robert Louis Stevenson, Bram Stoker, Algernon Charles Swinburne, Philip Meadows Taylor, Alfred Lord Tennyson, William Thackeray, Anthony Trollope, George MacDonald, G.M. Hopkins, Oscar Wilde

Color this Victorian parlor. Compare this with the 1890s parlor you will see at Smith-McDowell House.

Pre-visit activity MAKE A CALLING CARD In the Victorian Era, a lady or gentleman would carry a card when “calling” or making a short visit, to another person. Calling usually took place in the afternoon. This practice was exclusively associated with people of high status and wealth. Those who did not carry calling cards were seen as “ill-bred” or of lower status Special care was taken when dressing for calling, even though a caller did not necessarily expect to be received. The butler would answer the door and present a stand into which a calling card would be placed. A lady would leave one of her cards and two of her husband’s cards, for both the lady and gentleman that she was visiting. (A lady would never leave her card for a man). The butler would take the cards to the lady or gentleman of the house, who would use the card to screen visitors or to learn who had called while they were out. It was important to know who had called because the custom of calling was reciprocal. If someone called on you, you were expected to return the favor. Victorian calling cards varied widely in expense, from handwritten to rubber-stamped or pre-printed cards. Preprinted cards with blank spaces for the penning of names were popular, although cards were also engraved. Many cards were ornately decorated, with embossing, bright colors, and gilding. However, some people in Victorian times thought that a decorated card was a sign of bad taste. Today, calling cards survive as business cards. Before coming to Smith McDowell House Museum, your students might want to make their own calling card. A gentleman’s card should include only his name and address. A lady’s card should also include “Miss” or “Mrs”, as seen in the examples on this page. Your students’ cards may be made out of cardstock or construction paper. Ask students to write their name and address in their nicest handwriting. Students should not include a phone number or their school name on the card as this would have been considered incorrect by Victorian standards. Students may present their card to the host or hostess at the Museum when they arrive for their tour. Calling cards were generally kept by the host or hostess, but we will return yours as a souvenir of their visit. You are welcome to design your own, or you may use the next page of images to print out and decorate.