McFaddin-Ward House Unveils Summer 2024 Interpretation

McFaddin Ward House curatorial team members Katherine McAtee (assistant curator/registrar) and Victoria Tamez (curator of collections) set up for the Summer 2024 Interpretation, “Season of Fun and Sun.”

Beaumont, TX; Jul. 9, 2024 – The McFaddin-Ward House invites visitors to travel back in time to experience summertime with the McFaddin family through the museum’s new Summer 2024 Interpretation, “Season of Fun and Sun,” on view during admission-free tours of the historic home this July through November.

“With ‘Season of Fun and Sun,’ we wanted our room designs to reflect the McFaddins’ summertime leisure activities both at home and abroad,” said Victoria Tamez, McFaddin-Ward House curator of collections. “We’ve pulled special items from the collection that revolve around travel preparations, along with objects like our festive, fish-shaped glasses and other embellishments that invoke the spirt of the summer season.”

In the summer of 1938, Mamie McFaddin Ward and her mother, Ida Caldwell McFaddin, set out on a weekslong European adventure, traveling to top tourist destinations in England, Ireland, Scotland, Switzerland, and France. Visitors will glimpse trip preparations through key items used by the McFaddins at the time, including passports, tickets, travel itineraries and luggage. The objects will be displayed in the primary and pink bedrooms along with two lace dresses the McFaddin women might have chosen for warmer temperatures.

“We chose the McFaddins’ 1938 European trip as our primary focus because we have quite a few interesting objects from that specific journey such as the itineraries, which detail stops at destinations like the Tower of London and Windsor Castle, and modes of travel like the legendary luxury ocean liner, the ‘Queen Mary,’ which brought Mamie and Ida across the Atlantic,” Tamez said. “The McFaddins saved the menu from the ‘Queen Mary’ used during that voyage, and it will be one of the objects displayed during the summer interpretation.”

On the first floor, the dining room and breakfast room will be highlighted by bare tables set with placemats, summer plates with floral designs, colorful glassware and bright center pieces. The library, a preferred after-dinner retreat for the McFaddins, will center around an ice cream dessert with special cups and forks once used to enjoy the summer treat, and the music room will feature another of the McFaddin ladies’ beautiful lace dresses.

The McFaddin-Ward House offers admission-free docent-led and self-guided audio tours for adults and children ages eight and up. Museum hours are Wednesday – Saturday, 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., and from 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. All tours begin at the Visitor Center at 1906 Calder Avenue in Beaumont.

The museum encourages reservations, but walk-ins are always welcome and are accommodated with tours scheduled as available. Group tours are also available by reservation. For more information, call 409-832-2134 or visit mcfaddin-ward.org.

Built in 1905-1906 in the distinctive Beaux-Arts Colonial style, the McFaddin-Ward House reflects the lifestyle of the prominent family which lived in the house for 75 years. The museum features free tours, educational programming, year-round events, a carriage house, and gardens.