Park House Antiques

A new month is here. Park House Antiques would love to wish everyone the best August ever. We have a new book with a new clean page. We can't ask for more

We will be moving into a new month tomorrow. Let's all make it a good move. Goodbye July, see you next year.

Welcome July!

Park House Antiques wants to wish a flower-filled month of beauty to all of our friends and family. Sharing a few from Park House.

Art Nouveau / Art Deco Hair combs

Credit: Art Deco 1920

June is here! Let's do this!

Park House Antiques

Park House Antiques

🌸

Spring has sprung here at the General Morgan Inn! 🌸
The beautiful irises are in full bloom, adding vibrant colors to our gardens. Come and enjoy the fresh spring air and the beautiful floral displays.

Seventy-six years ago this week, a Hotel Brumley clerk was in for a surprise. He thought his car had been stolen while he was at work, only to discover a hotel guest had mistakenly driven it away, thinking it was their own. Fortunately, the car was safely returned!

"Unlike regular clothing pins, these were used specifically for securing shawls, veils, and other garments during periods of mourning. Adhering to mourning traditions required that all clothing, from head to toe, would be governed by strict guidelines."
In ultra rich society they were often used to verify the deceased were truly dead.

From - Weird and Wonderful

Have you ever wondered why blue porch ceilings and red front doors are so popular in the South?
Here's some fun facts....
The painted blue porch ceiling started in the South around 200 years ago. The practice traces back to the Gullah Geechee people living in the low country of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Gullah folklore explains that ghosts or "haints" were not able to cross water. In order to repel evil spirits from plantations, porch ceilings were painted a soft blue to mimic water in an effort to keep away any haints or spirits.
Another theory is blue paint may fool insects as well. Many believe that the light blue will trick wasps and other insects into thinking the ceiling is actually the sky and build their nests elsewhere.

The Red Door
Overall the red painted front door means protection. In Biblical times, the Hebrew people were instructed to smear the blood of a lamb over their front doors to protect their first born from the angel of death. Old time Catholic churches painted their doors red to represent the blood of Christ.
During Civil War times, a red door represented a safe house for travellers, as well as for the underground railroad.
Simply put, a red door means, "Welcome, you are safe and protected here." This Southern tradition still continues to this day and is widely popular across the country.

From Park House Antiques

THE MELUNGEONS OF APPALACHIA:
“While the Jamestown settlers and Pilgrims seem to get all the headlines, they may not have been the only revolutionary pioneers to settle early America. History tells that as colonies formed and explorers made their way inland from the coastal settlements of Virginia, communities were discovered already living in the wilderness of Appalachia where modern day Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee meet. These people, marked by distinct physical characteristics, called themselves the Melungeons. Neither black, nor white, nor Native American, they appeared to be a mix of all three and spoke broken English, Elizabethan English, and mixed Indian dialects. While many had dark skin and hair, others had blue or green eyes, red hair, and beards. Who these people were was never revealed and their ancestral roots have long been shrouded in mystery as the racial segregation of the early south kept them secluded and hidden from recorded history.“
Courtesy ~ WikipediaCommons
From Native American Culture

Come join us. Lots of fun! Lots of old vehicles.

Some Victorian folklore to share today. Who knew? We all have one or grew up with one in the house.
Have a great weekend from Park House Antiques.

Happy Easter to all our customers, friends and family.

The narrow 'servant staircases' in Victorian England were deadly.

Consider, too, that the majority of these servants were women, navigating these treacherous paths in long dresses inherently prone to tripping, read more 👇

https://www.exploringgb.co.uk/blog/servants-staircases-in-victorian-england-were-extremely-dangerous

(Taken from Exploring GB)

Stair dust corners introduced at the end of the 19th century to make sweeping easier. They keep dust from accumulating in the corners.
-taken from Abandoned Places-

This picture is a couple of items hanging in my kitchen.
The top one is a water dipper that belonged to my mother. This was used in a bucket of water in most kitchens before plumbing brought us sinks and faucets. Everyone used the dipper to get a drink of water.
The bottom is a metal match holder. A perfect companion to those long wooden matches from yesteryear. There's a box of those matches in it now. This item hung in my moms kitchen beside the back door.
Brings back a lot of memories for me.

March is here. Great news!

Have a great March! Summer is around the corner.

Remembering some of the Appalachian folk lore. My mom always said this about the weather in March. If March comes in like a lion it will leave like a lamb.. If it comes in like a lamb it will end like a lion. We will have to pay attention.

After realizing that poor women were using the flour sacks to make clothing for their children some flour mills started using flowered fabric for their sacks, 1939.
-from History Defined-

BOTTLE TREES: Have you ever seen one? The bottle tree is popular in the American south, as well as Appalachia, and is said to trap evil spirits and keep them out of your home. Legend had it that empty glass bottles placed outside, but near the home could capture wandering (usually evil) spirits at night, and the spirit would be destroyed the next day in the sunshine.

Glass ‘bottle trees’ originated in 9th century Kongo during a period when superstitious Central African people believed that a genie or demon could be captured in a bottle. When African slaves arrived in the U.S., they created bottle trees from dead trees or large limbs next to their quarters and adorned them with glass bottles scavenged from garbage piles. Blue bottles were coveted, because they repelled evil and trapped night spirits to be destroyed by the rising sun.

Cobalt blue bottles are a favorite to use on a bottle tree but you can also you brown and clear. You can make your own bottle tree as they adorn any flower garden. Traditionally, the bottles are placed on the branches of a crepe myrtle tree. In the Hoo-Doo folk magic tradition, the elements of the blue in the sky and water on the Earth represent the crossroads of Heaven and Earth and therefore between the living and the dead. Then bottle tree thus interacts with the unknown powers of both creative and destructive spirits. The bottles are placed upside down on the dead branches, be sure to not overload the tree with bottles.

(Written by Manda Wallace)

Come to downtown Greeneville on Main Street.

Did you know? The General Morgan Inn is one of only five hotels in Tennessee recognized as a Historic Hotel of America!

Step back in time and experience the charm of our historic inn. Discover the rich heritage and timeless elegance that await you here.

Blue sky fancy vintage glass buttons
The first glass pressed buttons were produced around 1760 after the invention of the button mold. By the end of the 1820s, glass button production was booming, with dozens of pressing plants springing up everywhere.

Source: The Vintage Enthusiast

Happy Valentines Day from Park House Antiques! We hope all your dreams come true.

Being from the Appalachian region we all have "sayings" and traditions that have been passed down through our families. Here is a sample of snow folklore.
Feel free to add your family's to our list.

Appalachian Snow Folklore:
•Chimney smoke hugging the ground; there snow will soon be found
•If there is no snow in January, snow will come in March or April.
•When there’s lots of snow, a fruitful crop will often grow.
•When the ground and grass is dry at morning light, expect snow before the night.
•When heavy frost is on the grass, snow seldom comes to pass.
•Birds active and flying low, beware of a coming snow.
•When the moon carries a halo, it’s a sign of coming snow.
•Rabbits moving on a winter day, a heavy snow is on the way.
•When dimmer stars disappear, rain or snow is quite near.
•When clouds move against the wind, Rain or snow is around the bend.
•When hornets build their nest’s extra high; Look for snow nearing your thigh.
•If snow on the ground won’t melt, it’s waiting for more snow, or it’s calling it in.
•If snow sticks to the sides of trees, another snow will come in 48 hours.
•If the sun shines while it’s raining or snowing, it’ll come again the same time tomorrow.
•If snow lays on the ground for 3 days it’s waiting for another snow.

(From the Foxfire Book. Banner Elk, North in Avery County. January 2022)