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Home PageEXHIBIT AT SCOTT JOPLIN HOUSE STATE HISTORIC SITE
REVEALS HIDDEN HISTORY OF GILDED AGE SOUTH
JEFFERSON CITY, MO., APRIL 7, 2008 - A new traveling exhibition at Scott Joplin House State Historic Site in St. Louis presents a distinctly Southern perspective on domestic service at the turn of the 20th century. Sponsored by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, this 14-panel exhibition will be on display from April 17 through June 22. An opening reception is 5 to 7 p.m. April 20 at the historic site.
"From Morning to Night: Domestic Service in the Gilded Age South," developed by Maymont Foundation, tells the story of a predominantly African-American labor corps -- barely a generation removed from slavery -- that worked primarily in white households as cooks, maids, laundresses, nursemaids, butlers and chauffeurs. Often hidden from view, and largely hidden from history, their labor made their employers' lifestyles appear effortless. With nearly 70 photographs and illustrations, interpretive text and numerous period quotations, the exhibition reveals the daily rhythms of service as well as its broader context in the turbulent Jim Crow South. The exhibition's focus on everyday interactions between black and white Southerners gives visitors an intimate view of this pivotal period in American history.
"From Morning to Night" was funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and developed with the assistance of the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia and the Virginia Association of Museums. The traveling exhibition is a component of a larger permanent exhibition in the newly restored service areas of Maymont House Museum, in Richmond.
Scott Joplin House State Historic Site, located at 2658 Delmar Blvd., preserves the home of ragtime composer Scott Joplin and is open for tours. Hours of operation are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.
For more information, call the historic site at 314-340-5790 or the Department of Natural Resources toll free at 800-334-6946 (voice) or 800-379-2419 (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf). For more information about Missouri state parks and historic sites, visit the Web at www.mostateparks.com.
