The focus of the room is a nine-foot fireplace with "fixings" of a log hook, heavy iron kettles, a spider, gridiron, longhandled waffle iron, bread shovel, skewers, ladles and forks. A small recess in the brick wall would have served to bake bread.
Pine beams used in the seven-foot-high ceiling and fireplace were brought from Massachusetts. White pine is used for the seminar table, benches and chairs. Special light fixtures are made of pierced tin.
The small closet between the blackboard and fireplace contains a secret panel. Once the concealed latch is discovered, its release causes the wall to swing open, revealing a hidden staircase to the upper loft, which is furnished as a 19th- century bedroom.
On the four-post rope bed is a wedding quilt,
handmade in the 1850s. Nearby is a pine cradle. Other furnishings include
a Bible and wash set.
STYLE: New England Colonial, 17th century
Edited and modified 4/98 by Marie Mazzocco
Sound clips edited by John Rehbun and Carl Kuzmich from the Center for Instructional Development & Distance Education (CIDDE) at the University of Pittsburgh