Cayuga Museum: 'If these walls could talk'

Staff at the Cayuga Museum have been diving into the history of the Willard-Case Mansion again in preparation for a new exhibit exploring the building itself. Visitors will not only learn about the architectural styles used, but also about the people who lived and worked in the mansion.

When the museum reopens, visitors will also be able to enjoy a new self-guided audio tour, using the Bloomberg Connects app, which will lead visitors room-by-room through the mansion. One of the spaces you will learn more about is the main parlor and what this room can tell us about the Willard-Case family.

The parlor came to prominence during Queen Victoria's time on the British throne. New etiquette said that guests should be greeted with the very best one had to offer. The parlor became a receiving room for visitors, where the best furnishings and decorations were employed. It is in this room that guests would be entertained, and the family could gather together.

The first occupants of the mansion were Dr. Sylvester Willard; his wife, Jane; their two daughters, Caroline and Georgiana; and Jane's parents and brother-in-law. They were a close family who enjoyed spending time together, and were also prominent community members who were involved in many organizations. Dr. Willard's journal notes many instances of guests calling at the house, as well as larger events the family hosted in their parlor and dining room, such as a reception for the 25th anniversary celebration of the Oswego Starch Factory and a reading club meeting hosted by Caroline.

Images in our collection show the Willard family seated in their parlor. As you can see, Victorian-era parlors were usually cluttered with furniture that was often small and easy to move around the room. Ottomans and card tables could be shifted to create smaller gatherings, and it was imperative to have enough seating for every guest.

The Willard-Case family certainly enjoyed entertaining, and were able to do so with the help of their domestic servants. According to census data, the family regularly had between two and four live-in servants. Several worked for the family for many years, such as Anna McComb, who worked as the housekeeper for over 40 years. Anna was evidently loved by the family, as Caroline left Anna money in her will. The family also employed a cook, gardener and maids, as well as hiring out day labor, such as washing and ironing, to neighborhood women. Over 30 people worked in the mansion during the years that it was a private home. These trusted employees kept the household running smoothly and allowed the Willards and Cases to maintain the comfortable lifestyle expected of families of their wealth.

During the 1920s, when Theodore Case and his family lived in the mansion, the parlor became a slightly outdated notion. It was still the room that the family used for entertaining but it wouldn't have held the same formality as before. Even the name had changed. During the 1918 influenza epidemic, it became common to have the bodies of the deceased displayed for viewing in the parlor and the room received the nickname "death room." After World War I, when the number of deaths decreased, Ladies Home Journal published an that stated the "death room" should be called the "living room," as it was now the room where socialization and happiness occurred.

While the Case family did not receive guests with the same formal etiquette that the Willards followed, they did entertain visitors in the mansion. The parlor is the room most changed by Ted Case, suggesting that the family did use the room frequently. It was Case who had much of the ornate trim removed, and simplified the room with the wood paneling that visitors see today.

The mansion now serves as gallery space for history and art exhibits, but we hope that the new exhibit and audio tour will help visitors imagine the lives of all the people who have lived, worked and visited within its walls.

Karyn Radcliffe is the director of collections at the Cayuga Museum of History & Art and Case Research Lab at 203 Genesee St., Auburn. For more information, contact the museum at (315) 253-8051 or cayugamuseum.org , or email .

Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly!