A history lesson through hats

Hats made out of feathers, velvet, silk and many other fabric blends line the walls at the Eden Historical Museum as part of its new exhibit “Hats from the Attic.”

The new exhibit is aptly named because most hats were indeed taken from attics. More than 50 percent of the hats are on loan from the museum’s founder, Jean Harrington. While pulling out a special black hat worn by her aunt, she said she could remember exactly how she used to wear it.

“My aunt was always dressed to the nines, and I still keep a few pictures of her in that hat,” she said. “It would sit on the side of her head when she would wear it, and she was a knockout in it.”

Harrington said most hats in her collection are from the 1930s through the 40s. She said outfits back then just had to go together.

“Your hat had to go with your outfit, gloves, shoes, your pocketbook and your jewelry – everything had to go together,” she said. “Most outfits had a hat specifically for that ensemble.”

Museum curators Melissa Whitten and Julie Ganis probably spent around 120 hours apiece on the exhibit, according to Whitten. She said it wasn’t anything they planned, but Harrington just happened to mention she had a lot of hats in her attic.

“It had been a while since we had done a special exhibit, so we were thinking about something we could do quickly,” Whitten said. “Jean had a lot of hats, so we figured we would have to tell a little bit of history about them, but what we thought would be simple and quick ended up turning into far more work than we had ever done.”

Whitten said she milled over Websites, census records and genealogy records to get information on local milliners (hatmakers). She said once they started asking around for people who had hats and items, they had a huge pile of items available for display.

Starting from the first section of the exhibit, museum goers can see how hats were made from local milliners, and who the milliners were. Antique sewing materials, ribbons, feathers and anything else that could be used to decorate a hat are also on display.

Additionally, the exhibit tells the evolution of the hat through the late 1800s through the 1900s and how the feather trade for hats almost pushed some species of birds into extinction during that time.

“Birds were in extremely high demand, and some people in the feather trade would take whole wings and just leave the animals to die,” she said. “It’s really amazing that a fashion trend could bring a very species to the brink of extinction.”

This display was made largely possible because Harrington never throws anything away, said Whitten. Harrington said it’s impossible to discard the hats because of how much they mean to her.

“I love them and they are really a part of my family history, so I can’t just throw them away,” she said. “I can see my folks in these hats, and I know who wore most all of them and what they wore them with. It just brings back a lot of memories.”

Also donating items for display were John and Peggy Burton, Thomas Silk and Doug Shaw. Mike Carter also pitched in to help with construction.

“Hats from the Attic” will be on display through the end of June. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and is located at 656 Washington St. For additional information, call (336) 623-0773.