Furniture at Johns Hopkins House 3

The Hopkins family moved into Whites Hall house at its completion around 1780-81 and lived there until it was sold in 1910. In that 130 years, they probably purchased and lived with furniture from several design periods. Unlike our current disposable society, folks from that time period would purchase, keep, and use their furniture for a long time and then pass it down as part of any inheritance.

Furniture was created in a variety of particular styles beginning with Early American (1640-1700), Colonial (1700-1780), Federal (1780-1820), Queen Anne (1720-1760), Sheraton (1780-1820), American Empire (1800-1840), Shaker (1820-1860), Victorian (1840-1910), and Arts and Craft/Mission (1880-1920). Although we have no evidence, the Hopkins family may have purchased furniture pieces from one or more of these furniture styles during their time at Whites Hall. We will be going through blogs about each style period. I will include examples of what the family might have purchased for the house.

Early American (1640-1700)

The Early American period was really the first period where a distinct style began to appear within furniture pieces in the colonies that went beyond mere practicality. Ornamental carvings, finials, raised panels and woodturnings were hallmarks of this period. Most joinery was of the mortise and tenon variety, with pine, cherry, birch, maple, oak and fruit woods such as apple comprising the majority of the hardwoods and softwoods used for these pieces.

The Hopkins family may have brought some pieces in this style from their previous homes even the one that must have been on the property before Whites Hall was built in 1780.