Wolf House Museum Virtual Tour 2021

Exploring the 1880s at

The Wolf House Museum

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Welcome to the Wolf House Museum!

Advance slides through arrow to the right!

What was Manhattan like during the 1880s?

The Wolf House Museum is located here!

Click on the icon below to see a glimpse of Manhattan during the 1880s!

Take a look at this map of Manhattan from the 1881 Riley County Plat Book. Do you see anything on the 1881 map that we would also find on a map of Manhattan today?

What was the Wolf House?

A Boarding house

• The Wolf House was originally built as a German Boarding House by John S. Frank in 1868. (That's 153 years ago!)

• A boarding house is a house (often a family home) in which lodgers rent one or more rooms for one or more nights. Sometimes renters stayed for weeks or months at a time!

Learn about who (and how many people) lived in this house in 1870!

The Perry Family

• In 1875, Dr. George Hazzard and Ellen Farrand Perry gained ownership of the house when it was given to them by Dr. Perry's sister, Maria Perry Wells.

• Although Dr. Perry was a doctor, he mostly sold real estate and insurance in Manhattan.

• Mrs. Perry sold bread and tended to the boarders renting at the house.

• The Perry family had a total of five children, of which three survived to adulthood.

Now... let's explore the 1880s!

Dining

Parlor

Kitchen

Laundry

Bedroom

Bathroom

Dining Room

Dining in A Boarding House

According to the 1885 census, there were eight people living in the Perry house at the time. This included four Perry family members and four boarders. Meals would have been served together in the dining room.

Does your dining room at home look like this? What is similiar? What is different?

Photo courtesy Carol Highsmith, America

Dining in the 1880s

Dining and Food

Manners & Etiquette

What's that utensil for?

The Parlor

During the Victorian era, the parlor served as the front room in most homes. It was used to receive and entertain guests, and as a place for family to gather. Take a tour of the Parlor with Wolf House docent, Mrs. Duncan!

Entertainment in the Parlor

Learn what residents in the Perry Boarding House might have done for fun during the 1880s!

The Parlor

The Kitchen

Heart of the Home

This kitchen was added onto the house by the Perrys in 1883. In the 1880s, it required more work to prepare and preserve food than it does today. Food was prepared "from scratch" which meant it was made with fresh ingredients.

Does this look like your kitchen at home?

A Boarding House Bedroom

Boarding houses were common throughout many cities in the United States thoughout the 1880s. Manhattan was no exception!

Boarders would often share washing and dining facilities in the home. Sometimes, more than one person could be assigned to a room.

How does this room compare with your bedroom?

But, where's the bathroom?!

The bathroom of the 1880s looked very different than the bathrooms in our homes today. Manhattan received its first waterworks system in 1887 where residents had piped in water at their homes. Prior to then, homes relied on wells and cisterns for water!

Click on the icons next to each picture to learn more about bathroom items of the 1880s!

Learn what Dr. Perry had to say about waterworks!

Clothing of the 1880s

What did people wear in the 1880s?

By the 1880s, sales of machine-made and ready-to-wear clothing increased dramatically. Many women, men, and children, however, still wore hand-made clothing!

Take a look at some of the fashions from Riley County in the 1880s through the icon below!

Clothing of the 1880s

What did men wear in the 1880s?

What did ladies wear in the 1880s?

Crazy Quilting!

Why is it called a 'Crazy' quilt?

Sewing crazy quilts was a popular fad of the Victorian era, especially during the 1880s.

The exhibits at the Centennial Philadelphia Exposition in 1876 had a strong effect on inspiring the "crazy" quilt.

One of the most popular exhibits was the Japanese pavillion which showcased ceramics with a finish called "crazing." This technique produced an overall random, broken appearance to the ceramic's glaze, similar to what you can see on crazy quilts!

Click here to see what the Manhattan newspapers had to say about the "crazy quilt craze" in 1885!

Make Your Own!

In your activity packet you will find five pieces of scrapbook paper. Use this paper to craft your own crazy quilt block! Be creative and add unique stitching and embellishments to you "fabric" by drawing them onto the paper!

Use a glue stick to outline the edges of the paper to attach the pieces together.

Using a marker, pen, or pencil, add stitches and embellishments to your quilt block!

Use this as an example as how your quilt block might look!

Use this guide as a template to put your quilt block together.

Fun & Games in the Wolf House

Thaumatropes

Whirligig

Ball and Cup

A thaumatrope is an optical illusion toy popular during the Victorian era. On each side of the disc is a picture. The images are designed and placed so that when the disc is spun, the two pictures appear as one!

The ball and cup consists of a stem of wood with a shallow cup on the end. A ball is then attached by string. The goal is to toss the ball to catch it in the cup!

The sound that this toy makes when used lends itself to its commonly referred to name whirligig or buzzsaw! You can also make this toy with string and a large button.

Watch this video to make your own!

Watch this video to make your own!

Watch this video to make your own!

Laundry Day!

Do you help with the laundry at home?

Imagine if you had to wash your clothes like they did in the 1880s!

1) Lye soap was used during the 1880s and created from a mixture of ash, water, and rendered animal fat!

2) Clothes would be washed by hand using a washboard and rinsed in a tub or barrel of water.

4) Clothes were hung on clothes lines to dry. (Or hung on trees or bushes!)

3) The water would be wrung out of the clothes using a wringer.

Laundry Day!

Take a look at what it was like to do laundry in the 1880s!

More Wolf House History!

This photograph was taken in front of the Perry Boarding House in 1905. Explore the photo to learn more!

Why is it called the Wolf House?

Max & Lucile Wolf

Learn more about Lucile!

• In 1941, Max and Lucile Wolf purchased the house.

• After Max had passed away, Lucile donated the house and many artfacts in 1982 to the Riley County Historical Society.

• We are so grateful for this historical treasure and that we can share it with you today!

Come visit us!

The Wolf House Museum

630 Fremont Street Manhattan, Kansas

Did you know that you can visit the Wolf House in person? Bring your family and friends to get a tour! The Museum is open Saturday & Sunday from 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.. ADMISSION IS FREE! The Wolf House Museum is a property of the Riley County Historical Society. The City of Manhattan generously provides partial funding for the operation of the Wolf House Museum.

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