Haberdeventure

Author: Patrick Fuller

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is an object worth? Although this question is just rhetorical, it can lead us to consider the value of physical objects when studying history. In Roy Rosenzweig and David Thelen’s The Present of the Past: Popular Uses of History in American Life[1], the authors argue that while many Americans might initially consider history, especially in an academic setting, to be “dry” and “unengaging,” Americans actually do interact with their history more frequently than they might think. Speaking with older family members about their lives, looking through old photographs, cooking, and visiting museums are all ways in which individuals can interact with history on their own terms. In museums and at historic sites, physical objects can serve as excellent jumping-off points for interpreters to begin having conversations with visitors.

Historic house museums are often furnished in such a way as to reflect a particular period of interpretation. Using the resources available, curators of historic homes are tasked with creating “period rooms,” allowing visitors to feel as though they stepped into a space that was frozen in time. Furnishing spaces in this way requires attention to detail. Paint colors, wall coverings, floor coverings, games, clothing, furniture, and other objects come together to create a distinct sense of place, and as such, all details are important. In addition to creating a particular atmosphere, visitors can learn from objects on display. Is the furniture high style, or is it more vernacular and utilitarian in nature? What does the bedding look like? Are the blankets English-made woolen rose blankets, or are they of a homemade or a plainer variety? Questions such as these allow visitors to consider the lives and stories of the people who previously occupied a space.

At Thomas Stone National Historic Site (known historically as “Haberdeventure”) in Southern Maryland, socioeconomic differences among the people who inhabited the home can be expressed visually by displaying things as seemingly mundane as wool blankets. Thomas Stone (1743-1787) is perhaps best known for being the youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence. Like many other signers, Stone was a wealthy politician and landowner whose material wealth was made possible through the labor of enslaved African Americans. In recent decades, historic sites have become increasingly aware of the need to tell not only the story of the wealthy landowner and his family, but also the stories of the enslaved peoples who lived, and worked, and died in the same place.

English-made woolen rose blankets (which were usually plain white, with multi-colored compass roses embroidered on the corners, and the ends blanket-stitched) would have been common to people like Thomas Stone but certainly not to the enslaved at his home, who would likely have been provided something much simpler, perhaps a home-woven blanket or a plain English wool trade blanket with the ends left raw. In this way, a simple blanket can highlight the socioeconomic differences among those who lived at a particular place. Blankets can also help tell the story of industry and trans-Atlantic trade. For example, blankets that were home-woven were typically made in two halves, with the two pieces being stitched together, creating a center seam. English-made blankets, on the other hand, would have been woven to the full width from the beginning. In the North American colonies, looms used to weave textiles such as blankets were narrower than the more advanced looms in England. At Thomas Stone National Historic Site, an English trade blanket or a home-woven blanket will be displayed folded in the North Kitchen, suggesting its use by the enslaved, who were the primary occupants of the space.

The Historic Furnishings Division at the Harpers Ferry Center is responsible for working with parks to create and execute historic furnishings plans. A major component of this process is finding vendors, through our own research and with the help of other cultural institutions, who can create high-quality reproduction items to furnish a historic space. This inter-institutional cooperation allows the National Park Service to locate the most talented craftspeople, and to create more historically accurate spaces. Learn more about the Historic Furnishings Report process.

The National Park Service owes visitors the most educational, impactful, and inspiring experience possible, and the goal of the Historic Furnishings Division remains to provide the highest-quality backdrop for meaningful visitor experience.

[1] Roy Rosenzweig and David Thelen, The Presence of the Past: Popular Uses of History in American Life (New York, NY: Columbia U.P., 2000).