Dry sinks were a quick way to freshen up without having to take a regular bath. Each day, one of the children would empty out any leftover water and refill all pitchers with clean water. Lye soap was handmade by Sally each fall when the hogs were butchered. Sally would use tallow (hog fat), mix it with ash from the fireplace, and boil the concoction in water.

Can you guess the purpose of the small ceramic jar just behind the soap? It's called a hair receptacle! Women would save their hair as it fell out and used it for many different purposes, including art.

This "hemmingbird" was used in sewing. It had a small red pin cushion on the top and a beak that could act as a third hand, holding the material necessary to get a sewing job done. The beak opens with a slight squeeze of the bird's tail. Operating on a hinge, the bird's mouth opens and closes to adjust the material as necessary.

This Seth Thomas clock is a French family piece. The original clock face was damaged at some point, so Mr. French made the current face to replace the damaged one. John Jay French, a devout Spiritualist, believed that only God could make things perfectly, and intentionally put flaws in his creation as a result. On closer inspection, John changed the number 11 to a Roman numeral and placed some numbers upside down.

The fireplace mantle contains pictures of the French family: John Sr (bottom left), John Jr II (top left), David (top right), and Sally (bottom left). When the family moved in, John Jr. was 7 and David was 19.

Cannonball beds, or rope beds, were a common feature in 19th-century homes. The bed contained two mattresses - the bottom one was filled with cornhusks, and the top one with feathers - and would not have been regularly washed. Over time the ropes would loosen and cause you to sink into the mattresses, where you could easily be bitten by bugs living inside. The wooden key (on the bed) would be used to tighten the ropes before getting in. That’s where the saying “Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite” comes from!

Because John built his home before modern plumbing, the family had to use chamber pots as their bathroom at night. The youngest child in the family had the responsibility of taking it out and emptying it each morning!

This sewing machine is an 1876 Wheeler Wilson and was displayed at the Dallas Centennial in 1936, where it was dated as the oldest sewing machine in Texas. It is foot-powered rather than electric.