A featured exhibit of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum includes “A Wichita Cottage.” This exhibit authentically recreates a typical middle-class Wichita home of the late 19th century complete with Victorian adornment and the emerging technology which would soon change domestic life and society in general. Seven individual rooms compose this environmental exhibit. Visit and pay a social call on the residents of a Wichita cottage, this 1890 Victorian house is authentically decorated throughout, from the wooden icebox on the back porch to the combination gas–and–electric ceiling light fixture hanging in the parlor.

The immersive Wichita Cottage exhibit has turned its parlor into a funerary stateroom, with repositioned furniture, a casket, and replica Victorian floral sprays. In Victorian times, the funeral director often delivered the casket and prepared the body in the home. The casket would then remain in the home for mourners to pay respects until it was taken to the cemetery for burial. To complete this exhibit, mirrors have additionally been draped in black cloth, just as they would have been during this time to reflect a period of mourning. Mirrors were covered to avoid any temptation toward vanity out of respect for the deceased.

This annual exhibit is on view throughout May in honor of Memorial Day.

Tues-Fri 11am-4pm, Sat & Sun 1-5pm

Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum – 204 S Main