EZ
Content Blueprint
Technology and
the Victorian House
STANDARDS:
The material in this unit may
be used to address the following Social Studies Standards
H-1A-H2 |
H-1B-H6 |
H-1B-M14 |
H-1D-M1 |
E-1A-E7 |
H-1B-E1 |
H-1B-M11 |
H-1D-E2 |
E-1A-E6 |
E-1B-M2 |
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A
number of important new technologies with potential to improve home
life developed during the mid-to-late nineteenth century. However,
not all of these improvements immediately impacted daily life.
For example, electric power and hot and cold running water became available
in some places by the end of the nineteenth century but did not other
areas until well into the twentieth. In general, improvements
became available in the East before reaching the South and West, reached
cities and towns well before they reached rural areas, and were available
to the rich much sooner than to the poor.
VICTORIAN ERA TECHNOLOGICAL
IMPROVEMENTS:
1840
= 2,800 miles of railroad track in nation; 1880 = 95,000 miles of
railroad track in nation
Railroad
effectively shrank distance and time, brought news of national styles
and trends, and made possible shipping of all types of manufactured
goods to most areas.
Prior to widespread availability
of gaslight and kerosene, lighting came from candles and lamps
burning a variety of fluids, including whale oil.
Gaslight. Gaslight
originated in Britain during first decade of the nineteenth century.
Soon adopted in United States and its use spread during the Victorian
era to homes, commercial and institutional buildings, and street
lights. (Check local sources to see if and when gas lighting
came to your area.) Gas was produced by melting coal.
(Coal melted in airless environment produced coal gas and coke.)
Coal gas, made in factories and piped to its usage point, burned
a white flame. (Today's natural gas produces a blue flame.)
Coal gas produced a light equal to from 10 to 20 candles and was
a big improvement over previous light sources. Gaslight
not used in summer because its use heated up rooms; gas fixtures
covered by gauze during hot seasons to keep off insects.
Other drawbacks: costly, perhaps somewhat elitist, unpleasant
aroma.
Kerosene
Lamp. Kerosene is a petroleum byproduct used in lamps
after 1859 by families without gas lighting. Provided light
for specific activities and areas. Could be used by anyone
having access to lamps and kerosene supply. Drawbacks included
intense lamp maintenance, fire hazard, odor, and soot.
A number of production, delivery,
and storage systems developed to improve the kinds and quality
of food available to the average Victorian Era urban family.
However, self sufficiency remained a necessity for rural families.
Refrigeration.
Refrigerated railroad cars developed to safely transport foods
such as meat. Invention of artificial ice made manufactured
ice broadly available. Ice boxes (wooden boxes lined by
tin or zinc) installed in most town and city homes to hold perishable
foods.
1830-1880: Cast iron
stove/range burning wood or coal a major improvement over
open hearth cooking
1880-1930: Gas stove/range
made fueling stove easier
Use of cast iron stoves did
not end with coming of gas stove; two methods of cooking existed
concurrently
Foods.
Prior to Victorian Era people grew their own food and/or obtained
it in bulk from local general stores. Prepackaging with graphic
labels and brand name foods became available during this period.
Examples include, but are not limited to: factory-made dairy
products, canned goods, dry cereals by Kellogg and Post, Borden's
canned milk, Jello
Fireplaces changed from wood
to coal burning
"Potbellied" cast
iron stove used by many
Furnaces
became available in some areas, especially in North and large cities
Alexander
Graham Bell received patent for telephone in 1876. Revolutionized
communication within cities and towns. Service at first provided
by local businesses and confined to town limits
Building
Materials and Methods:
Nails. Previously
hand wrought nails were now manufactured by machine
Wood. Wood originally
hand sawn and smoothed with an adze (also adz). New power
operated machines allowed framing pieces, sheathing, shingles,
etc. to be produced at lumber mills; jigsaw, lathe, and
templates allowed creation of elaborate decorative pieces such
as columns, brackets, cornices, wainscotting, balustrades, etc.
Railroad available for shipping if no lumber industry nearby.
Bricks. Machine
production increased supply while decreasing price.
Cast Iron. Used
for architectural ornament on houses and commercial buildings.
Cast iron facades available for commercial buildings.
Paint. Development
of ready-mixed paints via new machinery which ground pigment
so fine it could remain suspended in oil. Also, new tightly
sealed cans for safe shipping
Balloon
Frame. A new method of timber frame construction which
made building faster and less expensive. In this method,
all vertical load-bearing elements consist of continuous tall
members called studs which extend the full height of the frame.
Balloon framing contributed to the growth in home ownership during
the latter half of the nineteenth century.
Improvements in lighting,
foods and cooking, building materials, etc. reached most of Louisiana
by the end of the Victorian Era. The railroad played an
important role in bringing these improvements to rural areas.
Inventions which improved comfort and health of individuals (water
and electric service, bathrooms, some form of home heating, etc.)
were available to wealthy New Orleanians by the mid-1890s.
They may have been available in other Louisiana cities as well.
Improvements centering upon comfort and health did not reach rural
areas until the twentieth century. Check locally for specific
information on when such services arrived.
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