The Mechanicsburg
Museum Association

Museum Hours
Wednesday - Saturday 12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m.
 

"Keeping Our History Alive"

2 Strawberry Alley
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
(717) 697-6088

Stationmaster's House
Virtual Tour

Welcome
Telegraph Office
Parlor
Kitchen
Master Bedroom
Small Front Room
Girl's Bedroom
Boy's Room
Follow-up Information

     How did the Zacharias family use the small front room? Opinions vary as to how the room was used, and it may have changed purpose during the time the family lived there. Some think it may have been a play area for the children. There was little space for Frank and E. Gertrude to play downstairs since the parlor was reserved for special visitors, and the kitchen was quite small. Mrs. Zacharias would not have wanted the children underfoot, both for safety reasons and noise factor, especially as the telegraph office was right off the kitchen. Even the best behaved children would seem loud as their sounds echoed on wooden floors. Thus, if they could not go outside, they may have been upstairs. Note the baby walker, a local handmade piece. While Gertrude was walking by the time the family had moved to the house, a similar type walker may have been needed for young cousins. Also, the small room may have served as a study nook or reading area when the children were school age. Additionally, the room could have been used for storage, as well as a sewing area or for drying laundry.

     Did Mrs. Zacharias sew on a sewing machine? While sewing machines had been mass produced by the Civil War, they were not widely available for personal use in the home. Sewing machines were used for commercial purposes, mostly cheap construction of men’s clothing and uniforms. In the late 1860’s, few middle class women could afford them. Also, prevailing social attitudes raised suspicion about labor saving devices for women. Why should women save time? What would they do if they had it? Some thought hand work showed better quality, and others considered machines too taxing on women's minds and bodies, especially if associated with man’s work, and the man's world outside the home. Until the mid 1870’s, Mrs. Zacharias probably sewed by hand or bought items which had become more affordable as precut patterns were fitted to the individual and sewn by seamstresses employed by the shops. Not until extensive advertising campaigns helped to change the image of the sewing machine would a middle class woman in Mechanicsburg have purchased such an item. By then, the idea of women saving time seemed virtuous. Thus, Mrs. Zacharias may have had a sewing machine, for the stationmaster as a telegrapher was forward thinking, and he probably saw the delivery of such items via the railroad.

     Why does the sewing machine look so small? The size was typical for that type of sewing machine. Sometimes the machines were mounted on wooden cabinets. Note the small treadle and the word “American” on the sewing machine. That was the brand name for the American Button Hole, Overseaming and Sewing Machine Company, established in 1867, Chestnut Street, Philadelphia; they remained in business until 1895. The New American light machine was produced in the 1870’s; however, the patent date is shown as 1850. The New American light machine was used for family, tailoring, and leatherwork.

     Did Mrs. Zacharias use patterns? Regardless of how her clothing was made, Mrs. Zacharias would have checked popular fashion magazines to determine the pattern for new skirts and dresses. Two popular fashion magazines were Godey's Ladies Book and Peterson's Magazine and both were advertised in the Cumberland Valley Journal. Women and dressmakers did not have the kind of paper patterns used today, so they looked at the pictures in the magazines and figured out how to make them. This was a challenging process, for the fashion images were grandiose, and probably impractical, similar to the styles seen in today’s fashion magazines. Yet women in Mechanicsburg were resourceful, and they used their imagination, as well as sewing skills to create fashionable attire.

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