All the floors have a standpipe and hose apparatus original to the house. The Averills, who built the house, were concerned about fire after surviving a fire that destroyed the long-standing McFaddin family home.
General Audience Tour

The collection of both paintings and photographs represent Ida and Mamie's deep connection to family and genealogy. The series of portraits is of Ida Caldwell McFaddin's relatives from West Virginia and of the grown McFaddin children, at the bottom of the arrangement.

The organization of the photos represents a separate sphere ideology prominent in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, defined as the belief that women and men were different and meant for different things in society and the family. Many believed men belonged in the public sphere, working in politics or at jobs outside of the home. While women were believed better suited for domestic responsibilities in the private sphere. Eventually, the private sphere extended to include social issues connected to what was thought of as extensions of the home. Wealthy women were encouraged to support aid societies benefiting children, the arts, or their religious organizations.
This doctrine was mainly lived out by those with economic means. However, it was influential across all social classes.

Ida, positioned at the top and center, demonstrates her role as matriarch of the family who lived in the home. She was the center of family life and often considered a stabilizing force.

General Audience Tour

One usually assumes the sewing machine was a tool used strictly by the domestic staff or by hired seamstresses. That was the case for some textile projects, however, the McFaddin women enjoyed sewing as a hobby and used the machine for personal projects.
As upper-class women, the McFaddin ladies had more time for domestic hobbies and recreation in their daily lives. According to diary entries written by Mamie in her formative years, Sewing was a favorite pastime, one she enjoyed frequently, either to pass the time or create gifts for friends and family. She even started a sewing club with her closest friends on October 29, 1915. The McFaddins also hired tailors and seamstresses for any of their fashion needs.

General Audience Tour