Module 1: Daily Life in Stafford
Few Luxuries
Housing in 19th century Stafford was very different from the typical single-family subdivision home of today. While the homes of the wealthy could be quite large with the latest conveniences, most houses were small and overcrowded, with families as large as 12-13 members sharing bedrooms and beds. The average household size in 1896 was 5.23 people compared to 3.04 people today.
Stafford homes had no electricity or telephones, and rarely had running water inside the home. Water was fetched from shallow, hand dug wells, which made groundwater availability one of the most significant factors in house location. By the 1890’s, interior lighting was provided by kerosene or gas lamps, which provided brighter light than candles but created significant fire hazards in a time without fire departments.
Typical Stafford farmhouse, c. 1900, collection of Jerrilynn MacGregorSounds of Stafford
Average Household Size
1896
5.23 people
2020
3.04 people
Homes were heated by fireplace or wood stoves in the winter, requiring constant gathering, cutting, and splitting of firewood. There was little respite from the heat of summer. Many houses were constructed with large windows and a center hall/passage with a door to the outside at both ends, allowing air to move freely through the building.
People in the 1890’s didn’t bathe as frequently as we do today. Wash basins were commonly found in the home, allowing residents to clean their face and certain body parts with wash cloths before bed. Wealthier residents might have a toilet and porcelain bathtub in a designated bathroom. Average and poor residents still used outhouses and a wooden or metal bathing tub set in the kitchen or on the porch when it was time for a more thorough bathing.
The rate of home ownership in the northern part of Stafford County in 1896 (82.37%) far exceeded the rate in the rest of Virginia (48.8%) and nation (46.%) and was even higher than Stafford in 2020 (77.40%).
Richland, c. 1895, courtesy of Mary Cary Kendall/Jerrilynn MacGregor 
Jett Farm Buildings, Stafford County, c. 1927, Library of CongressPrimary source for Stafford 1896: “Land of Herrings and Persimmons, People and Places of Upper Stafford County, Virginia, Jerrilynn Eby MacGregor, Heritage Books, 2015
Discussion Topics
What is the longest you’ve ever gone without electricity?
What would you do for entertainment if there were no electronics (television, cell phones, computers, tablets)?
Have you ever visited a historic home in Stafford County? How was it different from modern homes?