Living History Day

Guide

2018

Smith-McDowell House Museum

Asheville, North Carolina 283 Victoria Road

Asheville, NC 28801

253-9231

www.wnchistory.org

smh@wnchistory.org

education@wnchistory.org

Living History Day

Curriculum Guide Goal: To create an environment of inquiry and immersion to facilitate the teaching of 18th, 19th and 20th century life in North Carolina by observing heritage craft demonstrations and reenactment and taking a guided tour of Smith McDowell House. Essential Standards: * = House Tour # = LHD Reenactors @ = Craft Demonstrations ~ = Hands On Activities * # 4.H.1 Analyze the chronology of key historical events in North Carolina history. # @ 4.H.1.1 Summarize the change in cultures, everyday life and status of indigenous American Indian groups in North Carolina before and after European exploration. * # @ 4.H.1.3 Explain how people, events and developments brought about changes to communities in various regions of North Carolina. # 4.H.1.4 Analyze North Carolina’s role in major conflicts and wars from the Pre-Colonial period through Reconstruction. * # @ 4.H.2 Understand how notable structures, symbols and place names are significant to North Carolina. * 4.H.2.1 Explain why important buildings, statues, monuments and place names are associated with the state's history. * # ~ 4.G.1 Understand how human, environmental and technological factors affect the growth and development of North Carolina. * 4.G.1.1 Summarize changes that have occurred in North Carolina since statehood (population growth, transportation, communication and land use). * @ 4.G.1.2 Explain the impact that human activity has on the availability of natural resources in North Carolina. # @ 4.G.1.3 Exemplify the interactions of various peoples, places and cultures in terms of adaptation and modification of the environment. * @ 4.G.1.4 Explain the impact of technology (communication, transportation and inventions) on North Carolina’s citizens, past and present. # @ 4.C.1 Understand the impact of various cultural groups on North Carolina. # @ 4.C.1.1 Explain how the settlement of people from various cultures affected the development of regions in North Carolina (languages, foods and traditions). @ 4.C.1.2 Explain how the artistic expression of various groups represents the cultural heritage of North Carolina. * # 5.H.1 Analyze the chronology of key events in the United States. 5.H.1.2 Summarize the political, economic and social aspects of colonial life in the thirteen colonies. * # 5.H.1.3 Analyze the impact of major conflicts, battles and wars on the development of our nation through Reconstruction. 5.H.2.2 Explain how key historical figures have exemplified values and principles of American democracy. * # @ ~5.H.2.3 Compare the changing roles of women and minorities on American society from the Pre-Colonial era through Reconstruction.

* # @ 5.G.1 Understand how human activity has and continues to shape the United States. # @ 5.C.1 Understand how increased diversity resulted from migration, settlement patterns and economic development in the United States. @ 5.C.1.2 Exemplify how the interactions of various groups have resulted in the borrowing and sharing of traditions and technology. * # @ 5.C.1.3 Explain how the movement of goods, ideas and various cultural groups influenced the development of regions in the United States. At the Living History Day, students will have a unique opportunity to see heritage crafts produced before their eyes. They will see fibers spun into yarns, wood carved into a household item, and much more (all activities subject to crafter availability). They will be able to understand how these items were used in the early to mid-eighteen hundreds in Western North Carolina. They only need to ask our Civil War presenter how his clothes and supplies were made and where they came from, listen to our storyteller explain how people lived in the wilderness using only the land around them, or examine a mid-1800s room full of handmade items. PRE-VISIT MATERIALS ARE FOR YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS. We find that the students who have had a bit of preparation are ready to learn more from our demonstrations and tours. Teacher slide show: http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/smithmcdowell-3388260-teachers-lhd-slides/ Student slide show: http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/smithmcdowell-3058167-student-slide-show-living-history-days/ Optional supplemental activity: If you want to extend your Living History Day experience using the architecture of the House, there are materials available. If you like, take a look at the Architecture slide show at: http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/smithmcdowell-1983737-architecture-power-point/ If you choose to use this type of activity with your students, materials are located online at:

IMPORTANT INFORMATION TO TEACHERS

1. Use the pre-visit lessons to prepare you students for their visit a. Emails will assign a time for your class for their House Tour. For

reference, write it down here: _________ b. Please be at the back door of the house (on the patio side) at least 5

minutes before your assigned time. 2. Please see the Directions page about parking. As you exit your buses, please come

directly to the check in table where you will receive a pencil, map and trash bag on a clipboard. After the event, we will send a survey by email to get your feedback and comments about the event.

3. Lunch: Outdoor demonstrations will cease for lunch at 11:00 – 11:30. Bring bag lunches and towels or blankets for lawn seating. After lunch your trash bag may be deposited in the large trash cans at the rear of the property near the parking lot. Restrooms are located in the AB Tech building next door. Security Officers will help your students cross the street.

4. Plan to spend about 10 - 15 minutes with each of the outdoor demonstrations and move on to another area.

5. The Hands On Activities are supervised by our Tar Heel Junior Historians Club (with adults, too), so we ask that your students treat them as the authority figures in that area. There are 6 separate areas so treat each area as one station.

6. For minor emergencies, please come to the back door of the house. Otherwise, please contact the Security Officer (located at the crosswalk).

7. WEATHER POLICY: Weather permitting; most of the day will take place outside. Students should dress accordingly and wear comfortable shoes. In the event of rain or cold weather, we will make interior accommodations when possible. THE DAY WILL BE HELD RAIN OR SHINE!

DIRECTIONS TO LIVING HISTORY DAY AND PARKING DIRECTIONS Smith-McDowell House Museum is located at 283 Victoria Road on the campus of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College. When in doubt, follow the signs to A-B Tech College.

From I40: Take Exit 50 (Hwy. 25 North) toward Biltmore Estate and downtown Asheville. Proceed .5 mile and stay to the right (Biltmore Ave.) as the road forks at the gas station. Proceed 1 mile and turn left onto Hospital Drive at the signal light by St. Joseph Hospital. (This is at the light between the over-the-road walking bridges) Then turn left at the light for Victoria Rd. The Museum is .5 mile down Victoria Road on the right.

From I 240: Take Exit 5B (Charlotte St.) toward downtown Asheville. Travel .9 mile and turn left onto Biltmore Ave. Proceed .6 mile. Turn right onto Hospital Drive at the signal light by St. Joseph Hospital. Then turn left at the light for Victoria Rd. The Museum is .5 mile down Victoria Road on the right AB Tech campus can also be reached from Meadow Rd. Turn at the light at Victoria Rd. Smith-McDowell is on the left. Parking & Unloading NEW UNLOADING PROCEDURE!!! There is a new traffic light at Fernihurst Rd. Turn there. As you come around a curve, you will see a pull-out area. Unload buses there, then the bus can take the next right to park in the far corner of that parking lot. Check-in Check-in table has a green umbrella. Walk toward the new gazebo and the House and you’ll see it there. Please bring your admission money there (cash, check or credit card). Money from extra chaperones should be included in your payment. Tell your parents to bring correct change! If you need a receipt, we will print one and will most likely be at the door when you arrive for your class’ tour. Picnicking Area and Restrooms The picnicking area will be your choice of a grassy spot located near the Museum. The restrooms will be located in a nearby A-B Tech building.

Living History Day Pre-visit Lesson

The Smith McDowell House

Objective: To familiarize students with the history of the Smith McDowell House in order to prepare them for their visit on Living History Day. This lesson can be complemented by having the students watch the slide show at: http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/smithmcdowell-3058167-student-slide-show-living-history-days/ You can also find the presentation by going to www.authorstream and searching for Smith McDowell. Time Line History of the House • 1840 – House built by James McConnell Smith (1787-1856) in 1848.

o Smith’s parents were among the earliest settlers to the region and Smith is said to have been the first settler child born west of the mountains in NC.

o Smith is a wealthy business man when he builds the house. He owns a mercantile store, hotel and toll bridge across the French Broad River. Tolls were 50¢ for a loaded four-horse wagon, 6¢ for a person and a horse, 2¢ for a person on foot, 1¢ for a hog, and ½¢ for a turkey.

• 1856 – James Smith dies and wills the house to his son, John. • 1857 – John Smith dies and has no will or heirs. The house is put up for auction/sale.

o William Wallace McDowell and his wife Sarah Lucinda Smith McDowell buy the house

� Mr. McDowell is Smith’s former business partner and Mrs. McDowell is Smith’s daughter. They raise 9 children in the house.

o W.W. McDowell organizes the Buncombe Riflemen who fight in the Civil War

• 1881 – Alexander Garrett buys the house from the McDowells o He comes here from St. Louis, MO with his son Robert, Robert’s wife

Mary Frances and daughter Alexandra. o Garrett adds the back section of the house and also a solarium for Mary

Frances who has tuberculosis. • 1896 – Robert Garrett buys the house from his father • 1898 – Dr. and Mrs. Charles Van Bergen buy the house (Mrs. Van Bergen is also a tuberculosis patient)

o They hire the Olmstead brothers to design landscaping, adding a reflecting pool, raised gardens, stable, paddock and orchard.

• 1908 – General Alfred Bates buys the house • 1910 – Henrietta “Texas” Bates McKee buys the house • 1913 – C. Brewster Chapman buys the house

o He hires architect Richard Sharpe Smith (many buildings in Asheville) to do some renovations especially the side porch and back hall columns

• 1920 – Herman Gudger inherits the house from Chapman, but never lives here. o Gudger’s nephew Francis lives here for a time

• 1951 –The Asheville Catholic High School owns and uses the house as a dormitory for 10 to 25 boys. Lower floor rooms used for classrooms and living quarters for priest. • 1974 – AB Tech buys house and property

o They are not sure what to do with it, so it sits empty. • 1980 – Western North Carolina Historical Association saves house from destruction by putting it on the National Register of Historic Places and begins restoration with help from students at AB Tech • 1987 – Open to the public as Smith McDowell House Museum Lesson:

1. Review the above material with students. 2. Write the dates on the board with the name of the owner beside it. 3. Have the students determine how many years each owner owned the house.

Living History Day Pre-visit Lesson

Museum Etiquette

Objective: To prepare students for their tour of Smith McDowell House Museum on Living History Day. Lesson:

1. Ask how many students have visited a museum before. Were there behavior rules in the museum? What was different about the behavior rules of the museum compared to visiting, say, a store in the mall? (don’t touch vs. touching, etc.) If you visited a museum that had exhibits that you could touch, how did you know you were allowed to do that?

2. At the Smith McDowell House, most of the objects in the museum are not allowed to be touched. Do you know why? (dirt and oils on our skin can leave residue that can damage old items). Even museum employees use gloves and special care when handling artifacts.

3. Have the students work in groups to develop a list of behavior rules to remember when visiting a museum like Smith McDowell House.

4. Have the groups share their lists with the rest of the class, writing on the board those rules that all the groups seem to have in common.

5. Fill out that list, including the following rules: a. Do not touch items or lean on walls, doors, etc. b. Be respectful of others in your group by not talking when the museum

docent is talking and allowing persons behind you to see (by allowing shorter persons in front and moving so that those behind get a turn to be in the front)

c. No food, drinks or gum in the museum. d. Stay with your group and move quickly and quietly between rooms so as

to not disturb other groups. e. For this event, please hold your questions until your tour is finished. There

will be someone at the exit to answer questions. f. Pencils only when taking notes or sketching. Take care with pencils so as

not to damage walls or woodwork.

ARCHITECTURE LESSON

This is an optional area to explore. It will stimulate the students to look at the Smith-McDowell House in a new way: the bricks, the columns, the windows… If you choose this optional activity, be sure to watch the slide show. The slide show is located at: http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/smithmcdowell-1983737-architecture-power-point/ If that seems interesting, then all the vocabulary pages and directions for using a Pocket Guide like a Scavenger Hunt or a page of House structural features is located at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xHcbcx6VZiGzUy-WBjrlX5-WVL2uzhVS?usp=sharing The above link will also be available on the web page: https://www.wnchistory.org/school-programs/ Scroll down near the bottom of the page for all links to slide shows and materials. The next page is an example of using a pocket guide. Print the page, cut in half and students can fold it into a back pocket…

Can you find the following items inside or outside the house? Check the ones you find. Add others not on the list. ____Bricks (stretchers and headers) ____cornice (inside & out) _____columns _____double doors _____ fanlight _____ solarium _____ transom ______ number chimneys Extra credit for identifying the types of columns and where you found them! Ionian _____________________ Doric ______________________ Corinthian __________________________ Can you find the following items inside or outside the house? Check the ones you find. Add others not on the list. ____Bricks (stretchers and headers) ____cornice (inside & out) _____columns _____double doors _____ fanlight _____ solarium _____ transom ______ number chimneys Extra credit for identifying the types of columns and where you found them! Ionian _____________________ Doric ______________________ Corinthian __________________________

Post Visit Activities Living History Day

1. Writing activity. Have your students write paragraphs about what they learned, their favorite activities or other topics. Students who found some of the crafts most interesting might want to do some further research and/or learn how to weave, spin, etc. 2. Students might be interested in researching the Battle of Kings Mountain, a turning point in the Revolutionary War that took place not far from here the Battle of Asheville, a small skirmish that took place near the current location of UNC-A Kiffen Rockwell, an Asheville citizen who served in WW One in the Lafayette Escadrille 3. Writing activity. Imagine you are living in Asheville in 1880 (the era portrayed in the downstairs parlor) and writing a letter to a friend about your day. Remember to use lots of adjectives in the language and be cordial, but not too casual. Other resources… http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/nc/history/history.htm http://www.northcarolinahistory.org/ http://www.history.ncdcr.gov/ http://ncmuseumofhistory.org/ Crafts http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=1707 http://www.abookintime.com/projectsall.html