I’m a sucker for a good house museum. There’s something about this particular kinds of museum, usually the preserved home of a famous individuals, that brings history alive in ways that other kinds of museums cannot. No matter how good the exhibit design in a traditional museum, objects are still housed in large (or not so large) modern buildings. Outdoor museums provide provide versatile interpretive spaces, but almost all must compete with the noisy modern world nearby. House museums – like the museum forts I discussed a couple weeks ago – allow visitors to step back in time and fully immerse themselves in the aesthetic of another era. Good house museums can provide the much-needed context for the history of a place or of a person. They provide a direct, visceral connection to the past and bring often larger-than-life historical figures down to earth, turning elites into understandable people who ate, slept, lived, and walked upon the very boards where the visitor now walks.
Like all museum types, house museums do have some inherent problems. They are often small and awkward, providing little space for crowds to maneuver and a nightmare for anyone requiring handicapped accessibility. Museums like the Paul Revere House and George Washington’s Mount Vernon are jam-packed year-around and difficult to appreciate through the crowds (though it should be noted that Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello outside Charlottesville, Virginia seems to have a pretty good timed ticket system set up that alleviates some of these problems). Upkeep on historic houses is expensive and locations are not always ideal.
As is often the case when dealing with elites, interpretation can also be difficult. Interpreting the lives of prominent individuals, whether national figures or merely local leaders, can be like picking one’s way through a minefield. In order for interpretation to be meaningful, it must be accurate and well-rounded, but not everyone wants to hear about a Victorian mayoral sex scandal, or a local leader’s unsavory political opinions or business practices, or George Washington’s slaves. Finding a sensitive and educational approach to handling uncomfortable historical issues related to the museum’s former residents is a vital step for any house museum.
