Competitive Figure Skating in the 1920s

Although most rivers and ponds are far from fully frozen in January 2022, it is possible that avid ice skater Ruth Mills was enjoying skating season in the late nineteenth century.  January is National Skating Month and a time for figure skaters to share their love of ice skating with others.  It is the perfect time to learn to skate, but in lieu of getting out on the ice yourself, let us take a look back at skating in the United States a century ago.  Given the skating background of Staatsburgh's curator (me), the subject is one of great interest and I have enjoyed researching and writing about skating these past few years! *              

Unknown skaters enjoying the ice in 1925.
Photo Source

*For more information about Staatsburgh's past programs about figure skating in the Gilded Age, take a look at this Poughkeepsie Journal article, this blog essay, or these essays on Staatsburgh's blog

Remembering Ruth Livingston Mills a Century After her Death

Today, October 13, 2020, marks the 100^th anniversary of the death of Ruth Livingston Mills, the long-time matriarch of Staatsburgh, born in 1855.  Ruth’s legacy can be found in her descendants, the preservation of her Staatsburgh mansion, and the surrounding park that bears her name.  Upon announcing her death, The New York Times reported, “Since the death of Mrs. William Astor no leader of New York society has more nearly approached the position of social arbiter than Mrs. Mills. Her characteristics as a hostess never altered; she did not believe in easily letting down the bars to newcomers or to new methods and manners of entertaining, one critic of her small invitation list during a certain Newport season asserting that she was determined to reduce the ‘400’ to ‘150.’”  

A September 12^th article in a Pittsburgh newspaper reported that Mrs. Ogden Mills was due to spend the late autumn at Staatsburgh though she was currently in Paris with her daughter, the Countess of Granard. Mr. Mills was on his way to join her.  Alas, Mrs. Mills was never again going to welcome guests to her beloved Staatsburgh.

Maternity Wear in the Gilded Age

Due to a present need for maternity wear in my own life, I started wondering what life was like for a pregnant woman who was also part of Gilded Age society.  Women generally took a reprieve from the public eye during this time, but was this the case for their entire pregnancy?  Would women use their clothing to embrace their shape or try to hide it?

It is true that pregnancy was a private subject during the Gilded Age and women were quiet about the subject.  It was not socially acceptable to flaunt a growing belly in public during the nineteenth century.  Any celebrating was saved until the actual birth of the child, which was partially due to higher mortality rates for infants and mothers and partially due to what was deemed an acceptable conversational topic in society.  The fact that the topic was private and not shared or discussed publicly certainly limits the sources that were left behind, but some examples of maternity wear and corsets remain.  In a society in which corsets were worn by all women and the ideal was a 15 inch waist, how did women deal with their expanding waistlines?  Today, maternity girdles are occasionally worn by women to support their growing midsection, but about 100 years ago, maternity corsets were worn to help minimize or mask the appearance of a growing bump.  These corsets were worn by many women despite warnings from the medical community that lacing too hard could harm the baby or the mother's organs (Check out this recent video on modern day corsetry).  Advertisements for corsets emphasized their safety, but it was up to the women to avoid lacing them too tight.

Maternity Corset

Welcome!

Welcome to the new blog for Staatsburgh State Historic Site.  We are part of the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation Taconic Region and this lovely mansion (seen below) was the Gilded Age home of Ruth Livingston Mills and her husband, financier Ogden Mills.  Commonly referred to as Mills Mansion by local residents, Staatsburgh State Historic Site is open to the public for tours and special events.  Visit our facebook page for information about hours of operation and activities at the mansion.

We hope that this blog will provide a more in-depth look at the building, the collections, the Mills family, and the Gilded Age.  There is an endless amount of fascinating subjects that are impossible to cover during a tour of the mansion and this blog is a place where we can explore these topics.  What happens on site when it is closed to the public?  What is really in those rooms that are not part of the tour?  What restoration work is ongoing or starting?  We plan to bring an in-depth look at hidden treasures in the collections and explore the lives of the Gilded Age elite and the people who served them.  If our readers want to learn more about specific people or things we welcome any comments or suggestions for future posts!