Keeping House

The Humble Museum has preserved many items used in preserving and preparing food in older times. Our Kitchen exhibits contains an old wood-burning stove, an old refrigerator, many cooking utensils, household items, and more.

This refrigerator was used in the home of Robert and Edna Brock when they lived on Bower Road in Humble. The Type JB4-39-A sold for $135 in 1939. This model is from 1945.

Keeping House

This stove was manufactured by the Great Western Stove Company, which later became the Great Western Manufacturing Company, the oldest manufacturing company in the state of Kansas. Founded in 1858, the Great Western was a foundry that produced flourmill machinery, stationary and portable engines, sawmills, pumps, mining machinery, ironworks, water wheels and general mill furnishings. Charles R. Goodwin found this old stove in Lake City, Colorado in 1973. In the late 1890s this stove was used in an old gold mine located at what was called Capital City. The stove was renovated by the City of Humble Parks Department.

The first electric toaster was invented in 1893 by Alan MacMasters in Scotland. His Eclipse Toaster toasted only one side of the bread, so you had to flip the bread over manually. Our toaster at the Humble Museum was used in the 1920s by Vicky Short, and much like the first toasters, this toaster has swing arms to flip the side of the bread.

How to use a washboard:

Soak clothes in hot soapy water.

Rub the clothes against the fluted surface of the washboard.

Rinse, wring, and hang to dry.

Wanting smooth fabrics is nothing new. They were doing it in China in the 1st century BC. However, more recognizable forms of the “iron” came on the scene in the 17th century.

Coleman, known for making lanterns, also manufactured irons. Coleman’s gasoline iron was a successful upgrade from typical “sad irons” heated on the stove or by charcoal. The Model 4A was made from 1929-1948. This iron in "cool blue" was used by Humble resident Charles Goodwin’s mother. It still smells strongly of the fuel used all those years ago. Hopefully those odors did not get on the clothes!

Molds were used to press butter into shapes. While our molds produced basic rectangles, some more elaborate molds had designs carved into the plunger that would transfer onto the shaped butter. The mold in front was used by Mrs. H.L. Koinn, Kate.

This butter churn and dasher were used around 1900 in Virginia.

This small crock was used in the Benardino home around 1913.