Washington Township Museum of Local History

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Press
    • In the News
    • Newsletter
    • Tri-City History Queries
    • Tri-City History in Photographs
    • Tri-City Voice Articles
  • About
    • Museum of Local History Guild
    • Board of Directors
  • Plan Your Visit
    • Contact
    • General & Walking Tours
    • Passport to Adventure
    • Student & Youth Tours
    • Calendar & Special Events
  • Museum
    • About the Museum
    • Research/Collections
    • Permanent Exhibits
    • Special Exhibits
    • Past Exhibits
  • Resources
    • A Brief History of Washington Township
    • Historical Papers
    • Local History Sites
    • Community Sites
    • Special Projects
    • Newsletter
  • Store
  • Join & Give
    • Donate
    • Membership
    • Volunteer
    • Donations to Collections
  • Calendar
    • Plein Air at the Rancho… FOR KIDS!
  • Tri-City Towns: Then and Now

Home Sweet Home

exhibit home sweet homevery member of a family was expected to contribute to its welfare. Although women did some outside chores, their primary tasks were child rearing, cooking, and providing clothes for the family. To accomplish this women spent hours quilting, knitting and sewing clothes. The home display includes items from the early 1900s through the 1950s.

The Wedgewood stove was manufactured in Newark; one of two stove factories in the area, the other being the Occidental Stove Company in Irvington.

The mangle was used by many women to keep up with the constant ironing of shirts, sheets, and underwear, etc.

The foot-operated sewing machine is from the early 1900s.

The hand-made pillowcase (donated by Rosemary Ramsell) and the embroidered towels are examples of handiwork by housewives.

Varieties of grinders are exhibited (used to grind coffee, nuts, bread crumbs, cheese).

Across from the kitchen is the Washing Day display. Here is an electric washing machine from about 1953. It came from the Joe Silva farm in Warm Springs. To start the process, the basin was filled with a hose from a nearby sink.

Rosemary Ramsell used a wooden ironing board, clothespin carrier with clothespins, and a washing board. Other washday necessities were the Oxidol washing soap and a Coca-Cola bottle with a sprinkler head. It was filled with water and used to sprinkle clothes before ironing them.

The Fireless Range Cooker used electricity and kept soup warm for hours by heating iron plates.

The selection of andirons includes those heated by gas, charcoal and by heat transference on wood stoves.

About the Museum

Research/Collections

  • Washington Township 1955 or before
  • Fremont: The New City 1956 to 1976
  • Fremont: A United Nations City 1977-2006
  • Niles Memories
  • Country Club 50
  • Our Heritage

 

Permanent Exhibits

  • Map of Museum Gallery and Exhibits
  • Washington Township
  • Getting Around / Transportation
  • Boy Paleontologists
  • When I was Growing Up
  • School Days
  • Growing and Raising Food
  • Buying What You Need
  • Mission and Rancho Days
  • Home Sweet Home
  • Movies in Niles
  • Mission Shoe Store
  • Meeting Friends and Having Fun
  • Stepping Out

 

Special Exhibits

Past Exhibits

190 Anza Street
Fremont, CA 94539

(510) 623-7907
Map & Directions

© 2002–2023 Museum of Local History | Privacy | Terms of Use
website design by collective discovery