An impressive set of bookcases purchased in the 1880’s from W. and J. Sloan in New York dominate the library. They are designed in the Renaissance-Revival style and are constructed of rosewood, lined with birds-eye maple and fitted with adjustable shelves, a modern convenience. Today, they house an extensive collection of books typical of an educated southern gentleman and other family artifacts. Also on display in the library is an unusual club fender located in front of the fireplace. The fender rests on casters so it could be moved from room to room. Family members fondly remembered pleasant evenings spent by the fireside with General Gordon seated on the bench reading stories aloud.

DINING ROOM

The Gordon family members were known as charming hosts and many exciting and lively dinners were served around their table. One of the first things visitors notice when they enter the room is the unusual cradle designed to hold the leaves of the dining room table when they were not in use. Exhibited in the dining room are portraits of Nelly Gordon and her husband William Washington Gordon II painted in 1910 by Alice Parker Hoyt Shurtleff, their granddaughter who was an accomplished artist. The 1906 portrait of William Washington Gordon II by Carroll Beckwith was so unpopular with the family that they were delighted when Juliette Low purchased it from her brother and transformed it into an ancestral portrait of her great grandfather. She changed the position of the hands and the color of the hair, styled the clothing to an earlier era and covered the entire surface with umber to make it appear antique. This story amuses visitors and makes it one of our most popular collections objects.

BEDROOMS

The up-to-date 1886 interior redecoration of the parlor floor meant that older, less stylish furnishings were moved upstairs for use in the bedrooms. Many families, including the Gordon’s, influenced by sanitary reformers and the colonial revival style, began choosing lighter textiles and bed hangings, washable painted walls and more informal furnishings for their bedrooms. Unlike the fine new furniture and artworks seen in the parlors, bedrooms gained their character from personal and casual touches like quilts, crocheted bedspreads, embroidered dresser scarves and other handcrafts. A star-patterned quilt made by Sarah Stites Gordon, possibly in this house and inherited by Juliette Gordon Low, is proudly displayed on an American Sheridan style bed with large lion paw feet. Another family piece, a raised embroidery work using silk, ribbon and chenille yarn wound in a way that creates a three-dimensional effect, is believed to have been worked by Sarah Anderson Gordon. It was discovered in the house during the 1953 restoration and is exhibited in the original 19th-century frame. Like many bedroom floors, beds, wash stands, dressers, chamber pots and toilet articles are on display. Less common is the working 1850’s double-walled steel, back wash bathtub. Weighing nearly a thousand pounds, it has never been moved since its installation.