It is important to understand the different types of house museums and their purposes before we offer information about our own house museum.
There are three basic types of house museums: Documentary, Representative, Decorative. Each type has its purpose and distinct interpretive thrust.
Having very little information about the Felts family, it is impossible to present our museum as the documentary Felts House. A much more realistic interpretive goal is as a representative 1815 Log House. We have used what little bits of information we have about the Felts family, and the rest of our interpretation is taken from the letters, journals, inventories, objects, or other documents from their neighbors. The one neighbor we did not use was the South Union shaker community, since there was a rift between them and the Felts family.
Historic Preservation and Conservation | History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology | Interior Architecture | United States History
Mullin, Timothy, "1815 Log House: Interpretive Manual" (2009). Library Presentations, Lectures, Research Guides. Paper 8.