Bringing History Home
There is no better time than now to explore history at the Filson – bringing history home to you!
The Filson Historical Society is pleased to bring history to you – in the comfort of your own home. Please check back regularly for more downloadable activities, virtual programs, and digital exhibits to keep people of all ages entertained, educated, and connected to our past! Click on one of the titles below to be directed to our family-friendly content, and be sure to watch our one minute video to experience what the Filson has to offer!
The Filson is pleased to share these fun activities related to our collections with history fans of all ages!
Let’s collect some artifacts!! You’re going on a Scavenger Hunt around your house to see if you can find similar items to what the Filson collects.
Can you find…
· a photograph or painting of a family member
· a map
an article of clothing that belonged to an ancestor
· a handwritten letter or postcard
· sheet music or record album
· a watch or clock that must be wound by hand (no batteries)
· a book about Kentucky
· items related to a horse, a steamboat, basketball, and Abraham Lincoln
· a hand-made blanket, quilt or article of clothing
Some of these items might be extremely hard to find in your home. Be creative and find alternatives but try to get as close to the quest item as possible!
Can you tell a story about a family artifact or one of the items that you found during the scavenger hunt? Here are some suggestions to get you started.
· Describe the item
· Do you know where it came from?
· Why is it important to your family?
· How do you take care of it?
· What is it used for?
· Can you look online to find out any more information about it, such as how it was made, or its original function?
Share your artifacts and stories with us! You can tag us on Facebook or Instagram, or email us at gro.l1611409706aciro1611409706tsihn1611409706oslif1611409706@ofni1611409706!
Seek and find answers to the following questions about the Women at Work: Venturing into the Public Sphere digital exhibit, located online at: https://filsonhistorical.omeka.net/exhibits/show/women-at-work. You can navigate through the online exhibit by using the right-hand table of contents menu. Once in the exhibit, you can advance using links at the bottom of each page.
A Spanish Beauty Fashion Plate ca. 1930, from Mary Cummings [1986.11.12]
Answer key located here.
Filson Activity Sheet – Challenge yourself or a family member to solve some of these challenges of historical proportions!
This crazy quilt is a type of family tree – each block represents a specific family member in
the Webb-Barbour family, with a name and symbols about that person hand-stitched on it.
The blocks were made by Leviann Gist Webb and assembled into a quilt top by her daughter, Sally Barbour, in New Castle, Kentucky, around 1890.
How would you represent yourself or your family member in a crazy quilt block? Download our activity sheet to design and color your own block!
You may want to draw a picture or initials in each space, and then draw “stitches” along the lines.
The Filson’s Special Projects Coordinator, Sarah Laufer Bruns, has created a tutorial for crocheting at home. Using everyday items and your fingers as the hook, you’ll be able to create a snuffle mat for a pet, a bathmat, or a playmat. Download the tutorial here.
Paper dolls are figures cut out of paper or thin card, with separate
clothes, also made of paper, that are usually held onto the dolls by paper folding tabs.[1] They may be a figure of a person, animal or inanimate object.[2] Paper dolls have been inexpensive children’s toys for almost two hundred years. Today, many artists are turning paper dolls into an art form.-wikipedia
Steps to making Paper dolls
Here’s a helpful article about making paper dolls: https://www.mybluprint.com/project/how-to-make-paper-dolls
Nationally recognized author and host of NPR’s “Morning Edition,” Steve Inskeep, discusses his latest book, Imperfect Union the riveting story of John and Jessie Frémont, America’s first great political couple. Recorded on January 30, 2020 at the Brown Theater.
Dr. Lynn Pohl, Collections Cataloger at the Filson Historical Society, presented Living with a Deadly Disease: A History of Tuberculosis and Waverly Hills Sanatorium, on Friday, July 24. If you missed the lecture or would like to view it again, you can see it on our YouTube channel here.
Be sure to check out all of our recorded events at our YouTube Channel.
Filson staff have selected audio recordings and video lectures from recent years to be featured for their relevancy to current events, historical anniversaries, and themed content. Please click the button above to listen!
To see all of our online exhibits and content, please visit: https://filsonhistorical.omeka.net/exhibits
In 1917, the Louisville Board of Trade purchased close to three thousand acres of farmland and open fields several miles south of the city of Louisville, Kentucky. The U.S. Government transformed this acreage into an active military camp with around two thousand buildings, training over 125,000 American soldiers for participation in World War I, with even more men passing through during demobilization in 1919. In 1921, after only four years, the Government auctioned off some of the land, buildings, and equipment at a loss of nearly six million dollars. The subdivided land would eventually become a working-class neighborhood, still known as “Camp Taylor.” This exhibit shares images and documents from the Filson’s collection that illustrate the changing ownership and landscape of the Camp Zachary Taylor area and illuminate the history of Louisville’s World War I cantonment.
Before the Wrecking Ball: Views of Lost Louisville – The images in this exhibit are from a collection of photos from that in part document areas of Louisville razed during “urban renewal.” They focus on the area on the western side of downtown near the primary African American business district along Walnut Street (now Muhammad Ali Blvd.).The photographer is unidentified but apparently lived at 734 Dixie Highway. It is likely that we’ll never know who took the photos, but because they did, these images of a “lost” Louisville were preserved.
Bourbon Label Collections: The Filson’s collections include two that document the labels of Kentucky bourbon and other distilled spirits: the Henry Miller Scrapbook, 1850s (Mss. M647a) and the
Whiskey Label Collection, 1934-1949 (Mss. W576). See the sampling online for a taste!
The Collection Reflections series focuses on items in the Filson’s collection that highlight people and events in Kentucky’s and the nation’s history. The items range across the breadth of the collection – from portraits to letters to photographs to books – and provides an opportunity to view items rarely seen by the public that help tell the story of the Ohio Valley region and the nation.
Venue Rental
The Filson Historical Society is a unique venue that blends the historic with the modern and provides a stunning background for any event. Several areas of the campus are available to be rented for dinners, retreats, meetings, receptions, parties, or weddings. The venues have access to 74 free parking spaces and wifi, as well as small catering areas. All of the Filson’s facilities have accessible parking.
Visit the Filson
1310 S. 3rd St., Louisville, KY 40208
(502) 635-5083
The Filson is temporarily closed to the public to protect our staff, volunteers, and patrons during the coronavirus pandemic. All events are currently being held virtually; to register for our live virtual events, please visit our Events Page; for information on recorded lectures and other activities, please visit us online at Bringing History Home.
We continue to provide remote research services; please email gro.l1611409706aciro1611409706tsihn1611409706oslif1611409706@hcra1611409706eser1611409706.