Topics Related to Artifact Spotlight

If corn represented a versatile crop from the Americas, the apple represented that for Europe. When apples first came to the United States, they primarily saw home usage with a variety grown for various purposes. Some apples were good for baking or eating, some for cider making, and some for vinegar production. One method we still enjoy today, whether alcoholic or not, is cider.

Weddings are a time of celebration, joining of families, and of course, presents. Specifically, gifts for the newlywed’s home. On a wooden rope bed in the museum lays just such a present, a quilt given to newlyweds Eliza Spencer and E. Higley. We may safely assume they married in the year 1900, as that is stitched in the middle of the quilt. Quilting is an old art that served the physical needs of the home as well as the social needs of women. Wedding quilts encompass both of these.  

When studying the origins of instruments, a mixture of fact, folklore, and verbal sources come into play. For instance, we know the modern banjo comprises of an instrument brought with West African slaves and the Spanish guitar. But the origins of the two instruments that birthed the modern banjo can get a little tricky. The same can be said for the violin as tracing its exact origins proves difficult.

A common sight at many historic sites or places, the corn husk doll provides a great hands-on activity for people of all ages. These simple dolls help guests learn about a toy that children of all races created. Over time, this once simple toy evolved into a folk craft skill. That was especially true during the craft revival period in the Appalachian Mountains.

Curling hair and beards dates back centuries. Evidence of this can be found in ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Assyrian cultures. The museum's collection has two curling irons from the mid to late 19th century that can be used to understand fashion and its role in culture.

Today, grinding your coffee beans seems quaint in some ways. Many of us are used to going to our favorite grocery store or café and buying pre-ground beans. However, for centuries, unless you went to a coffee house or another establishment that served coffee, you would grind and sometimes toast the beans yourself. Hand grinders, like this one, tell the story of coffee in the United States, and its rise in popularity.

The processes of turning cream into butter changed little from the 1700s to the 1940s. While the implements to do so progressed, much of it remained a process requiring strength, good weather, and time. For generations, butter-making was seen primarily as a woman’s chore or a chore for the children. They spent time every week turning cream into butter, one of the most affordable and easily accessible fats. The hand crank butter churn provided some ease for making butter but required much manual labor.

On 2 August 1887, Mr. Adoniram J. Cushman of Monson, Maine received a patent for slate treatment. His invention “…relates to an improved composition bath for treating slate or other porous stone and has especial application in the preparation of the slate lining used in refrigerators, butter, berry, and fruit boxes…”. The “Arctic Butter Box” helped countless families in preserving their perishable food before electric refrigeration.

On September 11, 1869, a letter from a Mississippi farmer appeared in Scientific American inquiring on the best broom corn cultivation practices.

When George Vanderbilt set out to construct the Biltmore estate, he envisioned not only a grand place for himself and his family, he wished to reconstruct the French-style country, self-sufficient estate. This plan included dairy farming. Raising livestock was not unheard of in Western North Carolina, as the terrain made it difficult to grow large rows of cash crops. Vanderbilt, wanting the best, imported Jersey cows for their high quality of milk in 1889.