Hunter-Dawson State Historic Site

The lilac bush is in bloom! Come on out, take a tour, and see it in person!

It’s Fashion Friday! Liz is back today wearing her work dress made of a brown flowered cotton fabric. A hoop would not be worn with a work dress, instead Liz is wearing a corded petticoat. A corded petticoat would make the dress fuller and also held the dress away from the legs, helping the wearer to stay cooler in the summer. ... Liz is wearing a pinner apron with her dress. In the 1860’s aprons did not tie at the neck but were pinned to the dress with straight pins. This dress would have been worn to do daily chores. The dress has a gathered bishop sleeve. This type of sleeve, with a cuff, was common on work dresses since it could easily be rolled up as needed while working. The cap Liz wears will keep her hair tidy and clean while she completes her chores. Thanks Liz!

It’s Fashion Friday! For today’s episode we have Anna the mannequin’s younger sister Mandy joining us. Mandy is wearing a dress suitable for a young girl. The dress has a wide neck, short sleeves and a mid-length skirt. Short sleeves were appropriate for children, while adult women would wear long sleeves with the exception of a ball gown. Mandy would wear a petticoat underneath to add fullness to the dress. ... Just like adult women, Mandy would have her hair parted down the middle and would wear a hat or bonnet when she went outside. (If she had a head!) Girls wore dresses their entire life, from infancy to old age. The length of the dress would be at the knee for a young girl and would get progressively longer each year until the dress was full length at adulthood.

We’re open for tours! Vicki has flipped the sign to OPEN and Matt is outside watching for people to come take a tour. We’re looking forward to giving our first tour!

It’s Fashion Friday! Today, Matthew joins us dressed as an upper class gentleman. He is wearing wool trousers and a pleated cotton dress shirt. The vest is a heavy cotton plaid and adds color to the outfit as well as providing a place to house his pocket watch. His coat is a wool frock coat, which was popular with upper class and middle class gentlemen. The coat was usually a solid color in a dark or earth tone. ... Matthew’s shoes are brogans, the originals reputedly made in Missouri in 1860 and still made in Missouri today. They are custom made with pegged soles and heels hand nailed with iron square cut nails. His outfit is topped off with a John Bull hat made of nutria felt. Fashion rules dictated that a gentleman wear the hat at a bit of an angle and not straight on the head. We hope you’re enjoying Fashion Friday as much as we are!

At Hunter-Dawson we’re ending 2020 with a bang and a flash (of lightning)! Last week, in a spectacular show of nature’s power, lightning struck the tallest pecan tree in the yard. You can see the path lightning took all the way down the tree. All is well though, and we’re looking forward to a quieter 2021! Happy New Year!

During the Victorian time period, Christmas decorations were often made with items found in nature such as holly, mistletoe and evergreen trees. Here at Hunter-Dawson, we decorate using holly and magnolia leaves from trees on the property just as the Hunters may have decorated in 1860. Next time you drive by the house maybe you’ll notice the many holly and magnolia trees in the yard!

Since we are not having in-person Candlelight Tours this year we took the opportunity to film a virtual tour. The house is so beautiful lit by candles and oil lamps. Merry Christmas from all of us at Hunter-Dawson! #OldFashionedChristmas

Even though we are currently closed for tours, we thought we would show how we make our persimmon cookies every year. Matthew will take you through all of the steps starting with collecting persimmons from the tree in our yard. The recipe will be in the comments. Enjoy! #OldFashionedChristmas

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Even though we are not having in-person Candlelight Tours, we will post a video of our virtual Candlelight Tour later in the month. We’ve been busy decorating!