Secret Stories
What was hiding in homes and neighborhoods?

THE MOB

This photo from 1879 was captioned “The Faribault Mob,” suggesting these women had a sense of humor. They probably needed one. Popular dictates of the era urged women to concern themselves with creating genteel havens from the outside world in their homes and neighborhoods, but they could also be found throughout the Faribault area working as store clerks and managing large families and farm life.

Photo by Louis Peavy, 1879, courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society.

THE PARLOR

The turn-of-the century parlor at the Coughlin residence had many features typical of the era: a piano, draperies, and antimacassars on the chairs.