Historic house museum

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Fallingwater is a historic house museum in Pennsylvania visited for its 1935 design by Frank Lloyd Wright Fallingwater3.jpg
Fallingwater is a historic house museum in Pennsylvania visited for its 1935 design by Frank Lloyd Wright

A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that is preserved as a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a variety of standards, including those of the International Council of Museums. Houses are transformed into museums for a number of different reasons. For example, the homes of famous writers are frequently turned into writer's home museums to support literary tourism.

Contents

About

The Anne Frank House AnneFrankHouseAmsterdamtheNetherlands.jpg
The Anne Frank House

Historic house museums are sometimes known as a "memory museum", which is a term used to suggest that the museum contains a collection of the traces of memory of the people who once lived there. It is often made up of the inhabitants' belongings and objects – this approach is mostly concerned with authenticity. Some museums are organised around the person who lived there or the social role the house had. Other historic house museums may be partially or completely reconstructed in order to tell the story of a particular area, social-class or historical period. The "narrative" of the people who lived there guides this approach, and dictates the manner in which it is completed. Another alternative approach, deployed by nonprofit organization House Museum, includes contemporary art integration, where artists are invited to respond to the physical and conceptual history of a site, thus injecting contemporary perspectives and value into historic places. [1] In each kind of museum, visitors learn about the previous inhabitants through an explanation and exploration of social history.

Philosophical and ideological influences

Apartment-Museum of Anna Akhmatova, Saint Petersburg Musee Anna Akhmatova (2).JPG
Apartment-Museum of Anna Akhmatova, Saint Petersburg

The idea of a historic house museum derives from a branch of history called social history that is solely based on people and their way of living. [2] It became very popular in the mid-twentieth century among scholars who were interested in the history of people, as opposed to political and economical issues. Social history remains an influential branch of history. Philip J. Ethington, a professor of history and political science, further adds to social history and its relationship to locations by saying –

"All human action takes and makes place. The past is the set of places made by human action. History is a map of these places." [3]

Following this historical movement, the concept of "open-air museums" became prominent. [4] These particular types of museums had interpreters in costume re-enact the lives of communities in earlier eras, which would then be performed to modern audiences. They often occupied large wooden architecture buildings or outdoor sites and landscapes, that were true to the era, adding to authenticity.

Collective memory

Interior view of The Duke's Diwan in downtown Amman, Jordan Interior view of the Duke's Diwan in Amman.jpg
Interior view of The Duke's Diwan in downtown Amman, Jordan

Collective memory is sometimes used in the resurrection of historic house museums; however, not all historic house museums use this approach. The notion of collective memory originated from philosopher and sociologist Maurice Halbwachs, in "La Memoire Collective" ("On Collective Memory", 1950). This extended thesis examines the role of people and place, and how collective memory is not only associated with the individual but is a shared experience. It also focused on the way individual memory is influenced by social structures, as a way of continuing socialisation by producing memory as collective experience.

"Each aspect, each detail, of this place has a meaning intelligent only to members of the group, for each portion of its space corresponds to various and different aspects of the structure and life of their society, at least of what is stable in it." [5]

An example of a site that utilizes collective memory is the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan. It was restored and is based on the dialectics of memory, however it also has the inclusion of joyous festivals to mask the turmoil. The Hiroshima Traces (1999) text takes a look at the importance of collective memory and how it is embedded in culture and place. Thus, collective memory does not only reside in a house or building, but it also resonates in outdoor space – particularly when a monumental event has occurred, such as war.

"The taming of memory that can be observed in the city's redevelopment projects reveals local mediations and manifestations of transnational as well as national structural forces." [6]

Problematic creation of collective memory occurs within historic house museums when the narrative of non-family members is dismissed, ignored, or completely rejected. Within the Southern United States, plantation museums (the former homes of enslavers) constitute a significant portion of the museum community and contribute to the racialized collective memory of the United States. Because museums are responsible for "the building of identity, cultural memory and community", [7] neglecting to include the narrative of all people who lived there is dangerous. While some plantation museum narratives have changed following an outcry from the public and the academy, "plantation museums reflect, create, and contribute to racialized ways of understanding and organizing the world" [8] by limiting or eliminating the narrative of the enslaved inhabitants.

Authenticity

A degree of authenticity is also to be considered in the restoration and creation of a historic house museum. The space must be authentic in terms of truly replicating and representing the way it once stood in its original form and appear to be untouched and left in time. There are three steps when declaring if a space is authentic: [9]

  1. Proof of identity must be presented and certified by a credible individual
  2. The attributes of the object or person must then be compared to the existing knowledge about it
  3. Documentation and credentials must then be used to support it and thus declare if it is authentic.

Historic houses in the United States

Susan B. Anthony House, Rochester, New York Susan-b-anthony-house.jpg
Susan B. Anthony House, Rochester, New York

The earliest projects for preserving historic homes began in the 1850s under the direction of individuals concerned with the public good and the preservation of American history, especially centered on the first U.S. president, General George Washington. Since the establishment of the country's first historic site in 1850, Washington's Revolutionary headquarters in New York, Americans have found a penchant for preserving similar historical structures. The establishment of historic house museums increased in popularity through the 1970s and 1980s, as the Revolutionary War's bicentennial set off a wave of patriotism and alerted Americans to the destruction of their physical heritage. The tradition of restoring homes of the past and designating them as museums draws on the English custom of preserving ancient buildings and monuments. Initially homes were considered worthy of saving because of their associations with important individuals, usually of the elite classes, like former presidents, authors, or businessmen. Increasingly, Americans have fought to preserve structures characteristic of a more typical American past that represents the lives of everyday people. [10]

Historic house museums usually operate with small staffs and on limited budgets. Many are run entirely by volunteers and often do not meet the professional standards established by the museum industry. An independent survey conducted by Peggy Coats in 1990 revealed that sixty-five percent of historic house museums did not have a full-time staff, and 19 to 27 percent of historic homes employed only one full-time employee. Furthermore, the majority of these museums operated on less than $50,000 annually. The survey also revealed a significant disparity in the number of visitors between local house museums and national sites. While museums like Mount Vernon and Colonial Williamsburg were visited by over one million tourists a year, more than fifty percent of historic house museums received fewer than 5,000 visitors per year. [11]

These museums are also unique in that the actual structure belongs to the museum collection as a historical object. While some historic home museums are fortunate to possess a collection containing many of the original furnishings once present in the home, many face the challenge of displaying a collection consistent with the historical structure. Some museums choose to collect pieces original to the period, while not original to the house. Others, fill the home with replicas of the original pieces, reconstructed with the help of historic records. Still other museums adopt a more aesthetic approach and use the homes to display the architecture and artistic objects. [12] Because historic homes have often existed through different generations and have been passed on from one family to another, volunteers and professionals also must decide which historical narrative to tell their visitors. Some museums grapple with this issue by displaying different eras in the home's history within different rooms or sections of the structure. Others choose one particular narrative, usually the one deemed most historically significant, and restore the home to that particular period.

Organizations

Mao Zedong's Former Residence, Xiangtan, China Childhood home of Mao Zedong.jpg
Mao Zedong's Former Residence, Xiangtan, China

There are a number of organizations around the world that dedicate themselves to the preservation, restoration, or promotion of historic house museums. They include:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Trust for Historic Preservation</span> US nonprofit organization

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 by congressional charter to support the preservation of America’s diverse historic buildings, neighborhoods, and heritage through its programs, resources, and advocacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lowell National Historical Park</span> National park in Massachusetts, United States

Lowell National Historical Park is a National Historical Park of the United States located in Lowell, Massachusetts. Established in 1978 a few years after Lowell Heritage State Park, it is operated by the National Park Service and comprises a group of different sites in and around the city of Lowell related to the era of textile manufacturing in the city during the Industrial Revolution. In 2019, the park was included as Massachusetts' representative in the America the Beautiful Quarters series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Living museum</span> Type of museum

A living museum, also known as a living history museum, is a type of museum which recreates historical settings to simulate a past time period, providing visitors with an experiential interpretation of history. It is a type of museum that recreates to the fullest extent conditions of a culture, natural environment or historical period, in an example of living history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic preservation</span> Preservation of items of historical significance

Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK) is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philosophical concept that became popular in the twentieth century, which maintains that cities as products of centuries' development should be obligated to protect their patrimonial legacy. The term refers specifically to the preservation of the built environment, and not to preservation of, for example, primeval forests or wilderness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property</span> Process of preservation of historically significant buildings

Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property describes the process through which the material, historical, and design integrity of any immovable cultural property are prolonged through carefully planned interventions. The individual engaged in this pursuit is known as an architectural conservator-restorer. Decisions of when and how to engage in an intervention are critical to the ultimate conservation-restoration of cultural heritage. Ultimately, the decision is value based: a combination of artistic, contextual, and informational values is normally considered. In some cases, a decision to not intervene may be the most appropriate choice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic New England</span>

Historic New England, previously known as the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA), is a charitable, non-profit, historic preservation organization headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is focused on New England and is the oldest and largest regional preservation organization in the United States. Historic New England owns and operates historic site museums and study properties throughout all of the New England states except Vermont, and serves more than 198,000 visitors and program participants each year. Approximately 48,000 visitors participate in school and youth programs focused on New England heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic site</span> Official location where pieces of history have been preserved

A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been recognized with official historic status. A historic site may be any building, landscape, site or structure that is of local, regional, national, or global significance. Usually this also means the site must be at least 50 years or older.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Historical Commission</span> Agency of the State of Texas, United States

The Texas Historical Commission is an agency dedicated to historic preservation within the U.S. state of Texas. It administers the National Register of Historic Places for sites in Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic Jamestown</span> Cultural heritage site in Virginia, United States

Historic Jamestown is the cultural heritage site that was the location of the 1607 James Fort and the later 17th-century town of Jamestown in America. It is located on Jamestown Island, on the James River at Jamestown, Virginia and operated as a partnership between Preservation Virginia and the U.S. National Park Service as part of Colonial National Historical Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope–Leighey House</span> Historic house in Virginia, United States

The Pope–Leighey House, formerly known as the Loren Pope Residence, is a suburban home in Virginia designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The house, which belongs to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, has been relocated twice and sits on the grounds of Woodlawn Plantation, Alexandria, Virginia. Along with the Andrew B. Cooke House and the Luis Marden House, it is one of the three homes in Virginia designed by Wright.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auldbrass Plantation</span> Historic house in South Carolina, United States

Auldbrass Plantation or Auldbrass is located in Beaufort County, South Carolina, near the town of Yemassee. The guest house, stable complex and kennels were designed and built by Frank Lloyd Wright from 1939 to 1941. It is one of two structures that Wright designed in South Carolina. The property was purchased in the 1930s by Charles Leigh Stevens. Wright designed the plantation to serve as a retreat for Stevens. During Stevens' retreats he would use the property for riding and hunting excursions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Save America's Treasures</span> US government program to help preserve historic artifacts

Save America's Treasures is a United States federal government initiative to preserve and protect historic buildings, arts, and published works. It is a public–private partnership between the U.S. National Park Service and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and Institute of Museum and Library Services are also partners in the work. In the early years of the program, Heritage Preservation and the National Park Foundation were also involved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Millford Plantation</span> Historic house in South Carolina, United States

Millford Plantation is a historic farmstead and plantation house located on SC 261 west of Pinewood, South Carolina. It was sometimes called Manning's Folly, because of its remote location in the High Hills of Santee section of the state and its elaborate details. Designated as a National Historic Landmark, it is regarded as one of the finest examples of Greek Revival residential architecture in the United States. The house has been restored and preserved along with many of its original Duncan Phyfe furnishings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belle Grove Plantation (Middletown, Virginia)</span> Historic house in Virginia, United States

Belle Grove Plantation is a late-18th-century plantation house and estate in the northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, USA. It is situated in Frederick County, about a mile southwest of Middletown.

"If This House Could Talk", is a community based history and public art project, first created and produced by residents of the Cambridgeport section of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Projects of a similar nature and with the same name take place annually in neighborhoods of Sacramento, California, Newburyport, Massachusetts, and other communities in the United States.

The Civil War Trust's Civil War Discovery Trail is a heritage tourism program that links more than 600 U.S. Civil War sites in more than 30 states. The program is one of the White House Millennium Council's sixteen flagship National Millennium Trails. Sites on the trail include battlefields, museums, historic sites, forts and cemeteries.

Boone County Historical Society was established in 1924. Located in Columbia, Missouri, United States, the Boone County Historical Museum has been collecting, preserving and exhibiting artifacts and records of the people of Boone County, Missouri.

The Ernest and Mary Hemingway House, in Ketchum, Idaho, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. The National Register does not disclose its location but rather lists it as "Address restricted." The property is the last undeveloped property of its size within the city limits of Ketchum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Davis House (Smyrna, Tennessee)</span> Historic house in Tennessee, United States

The Sam Davis House is a historic house in Smyrna, Tennessee. It is now a museum to the memory of Confederate soldier Sam Davis.

Demond "Brent" Leggs is an African American architectural historian and preservationist from Paducah, Kentucky. Among his roles at the National Trust for Historic Preservation he has been the founding director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, with the goal of raising $25,000,000 to protect and preserve African American history via material culture and beyond.

References

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  3. Philip J. Ethington (2007): Placing the past: 'Groundwork' for a spatial theory of history, Rethinking History, 11:4, 465-493
  4. 'Open-Air Museums: Architectural History for the Masses Author(s): Edward A. Chappell Source: Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians', Vol. 58, No. 3, Architectural History 1999/2000 (Sep., 1999), pp. 334-341
  5. The Collective Memory 1950, Chapter 4 "Space and the Collective Memory"
  6. Hiroshima Traces – Time, Space, and the Dialectics of Memory, Lisa Yoneyama, University of California Press 1999
  7. Representations of Slavery: Race and Ideology in Southern Plantation Museums, Jennifer Eichstedt and Stephen Small, Smithsonian Press 2002
  8. Representations of Slavery: Race and Ideology in Southern Plantation Museums, Jennifer Eichstedt and Stephen Small, Smithsonian Press 2002, pp. 6
  9. "An Introduction to Authenticity in Preservation", Pamela Jerome, APT Bulletin , Vol. 39, No. 2/3 (2008), pp. 3-7
  10. Butcher-Younghans, Sherry (1993). Historic House Museums: A Practical Handbook for Their Care, Preservation, and Management. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. i, 1, 5.
  11. Coats, Peggy (1990). "Survey of Historic House Museums". History News. 45 (1): 26–28.
  12. Hobbs, Stuart D. (Summer 2001). "Exhibiting Antimodernism: History, Memory, and the Aestheticized Past in Mid-twentieth century America". The Public Historian . 23 (3): 39–61. doi:10.1525/tph.2001.23.3.39.
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