Kitchen Appliances at the Knott House
Electricity was introduced to Tallahassee in 1903, but until 1908, it was only available at night. Electrical appliances for cooking and cleaning made fulfilling traditional roles much easier for many women.
Appliances within the Knott House reveal what kind of items an upper-middle-class family might have used, providing clues into what home life was like during this decade and how the traditional expectations of women around the house might have been made easier as technology advanced. The kitchen contains items like stand mixers and waffle irons to make meals easier to prepare. Not only would it have taken less time, it also would have allowed for more multitasking while preparing food. Most importantly, the Knotts had a refrigerator that did not require ice for stocking, like ice boxes had in previous decades. By the 1930s, electricity meant refrigerators were replacing ice boxes, and families no longer had to rely on ice being delivered to them for keeping food fresh.
Items such as these in the Knott House would have been used by domestic help such as Alberta Garrett among others. Learn more about her here.
