History at the Old Stone Fort - Lower Fort Hand Purse

Lower Fort Painting by Rufus Grider, 1888

This painting shows the Lower Fort (now the Old Stone Fort) enclosed by a wooden stockade, with blockhouses inside that housed cannons. At the time depicted, the fort still functioned as a church, complete with a steeple, belfry, and weathercock atop the tower. During the 1780 raid, five sharpshooters positioned themselves in the belfry. This painting was sent to us by the Old Stone Fort’s Clay Edmunds.

Mrs. Julia Mayhem Morehouse made this beaded hand purse in 1887, when

such accessories were both fashionable and meaningful. As the Industrial

Revolution, and especially rail travel, made travel more common, women

increasingly moved about on their own. Carrying a purse signaled

independence as well as style, while the detailed beadwork allowed women

to display their craftsmanship. Purses like this remained popular into

the 1930s.