Bringing History Home

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!

Activities for All Ages

Virtual Programs

Digital Exhibits

Activities for All Ages

The Filson is pleased to share these fun activities related to our collections with history fans of all ages!

At Home Scavenger Hunt

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.l1604128105aciro1604128105tsihn1604128105oslif1604128105@ofni1604128105!

Digital Scavenger Hunt

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]

1. What is Viola Stow holding in her photograph?
2. What kind of lab did Julia Tevis institute at Science Hill Female Academy?
3. What was the name of the Central High School yearbook?
4. What toy is named after Louisvillian Patty Smith Hill?
5. How old was Lucie DuValle when she began teaching?
6. What color is Rogers Clark Ballard Thruston’s jacket in his portrait by Magladen Harvey McDowell?
7. How many sewing girls were in Louisville in 1874? What food did Jennie Benedict create that is still enjoyed today?
8. What food did Jennie Benedict create that is still enjoyed today?
9. Where did Bessie Meyer wear the gown that Madame Grunder created for her?
10. What color are the flowers on the Madame Mulvaney dress in the exhibit?
11. Is there a fashion plate for any of the dresses in the collection? Who was the creator?
12. What item is Dinnie Thompson carrying in her picture that is also in the exhibit?
13. What did the Jewish Ladies Benevolent Society want their money to purchase for Jewish Hospital?
14. Who founded the Woman’s Club of Louisville?
15. What material did Irene Mudd use in her artworks for the Filson’s Women at Work exhibit?

Answer key located here.

Filson Activity Sheets

Filson Activity Sheet – Challenge yourself or a family member to solve some of these challenges of historical proportions!

Design your own Crazy Quilt Square!

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.

Learn to Crochet at home!

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.

Create your own Paper Dolls!

Virtual Programs

Register for an upcoming live virtual program here!

Previous Programs

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.

Recorded Virtual Events

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!

Digital Exhibits

To see all of our online exhibits and content, please visit: https://filsonhistorical.omeka.net/exhibits

Online Exhibits

Shrouded in Jet and Crepe: A Look into Mourning Attire and Ribbons at the Filson

For women in the Victorian era, death and mourning were part of life. High infant mortality rates, poor sanitation, and social and political unrest left many shrouded in grief, both emotionally and physically. Mourning etiquette in Europe and America, particularly in the nineteenth century, entailed a theatrical display of one’s personal grief. While all members of society took part in these rituals, they are best understood by examining the clothing and accessories of women as they progressed through the different stages of mourning. Though the exhibit does include a few items worn by men, it focuses primarily on material culture affiliated with women. The Filson Historical Society’s collection includes a wide variety of mourning garments, jewelry, and clothing accessories, as well as memorial ribbons, portraits, and posthumous portraits.

Pop Up Exhibits

Louisville’s Southern Exposition – The Southern Exposition, held in Louisville from 1883-1887, was driven by the city’s need to succeed in a competitive national economy. The Exposition provided Louisville with the opportunity to showcase its manufacturing capabilities and strengthen business relationships with both the North and the South. The Exposition opened in 1883 on the city’s southern outskirts—today’s Central Park, and St. James and Belgravia Courts.

Digital Collections

Frank B. Russell Scrapbook – On August 7, 1895 Lilian M. Stitzel married Frank B. Russell. Lilian, born in 1873, was the daughter of Philip Stitzel, who, in 1910, sold a distillery that later became the well-known Stitzel-Weller Distillery. Frank, born in 1868, was an enterprising man who, early in his career, was involved with the manufacture of beer staves and beginning in 1908 served as President of the Beer Stock Manufactures Association.  The couple had three children: Hobart (nicknamed Hobit), Toska (Tox), and Joyce. The Russells lived first in Clay City, Kentucky, and several images from this time are documented in this collection. They later moved to 205 South Peterson Avenue in Louisville, where their home still stands today. This gallery documents the family’s time in both Clay City and Louisville, as well as their travels, hobbies, home life (including domestic staff), and Frank’s professional endeavors.