Kristina Dixon Brownshire, 22, has had a love for history ever since she could remember. When she was a little girl her mother would trail her from museum house to museum house. Rather than become bored by old artifacts and facts, her interest merely grew and she has set herself up to become immersed in history. As a senior at Penn State University Dixon is majoring in Integrative Arts, and minoring in History.
“My major has really opened me up to a variety of time periods that I didn't think I would be interested in,” says Brownshire. This past semester Brownshire has been interning at the Centre Furnace Manor, where she has willingly plunged into the Victorian era.
“Working at the centre county historical society has really solidified my knowledge about victorian history and especially victorian decorative objects,” says Brownshire. It has been her job to categorize all of the historic artifacts in the manor, take pictures of them, and update the old booklets that are found in every room.
The booklets that list the history of each artifact in the Manor, are used by the docents in case they forget any pertinent information during one of their tours. Redesigning the docent guides has been a major task, as there are more than 10 rooms in the manor with notable artifacts. Some of these artifacts include furniture, lighting devices, paintings, and mirrors.
“I’m researching every single object, and the general history behind the object. So how it would have been used, where it would have been made, who would have used it, and what time period it comes from,” says Brownshire. She is also researching how the society acquired each object, as well as its significance to the county.
Brownshire says that when she tells people just how fascinated she is by history, they are often dismayed because they find it tedious. However she feels that learning about history (American history especially), is not only fascinating, but pertinent for people’s development as well. She believes that everyone should take note of these historic facts because without knowing ones past, there can be no improvement for their future.
“I think its important to focus on historical decorative objects and also historical architecture because I think that it can really tells you a lot about the people of that time, especially the objects that you would find in peoples home. It tells you a lot about the culture, the society, social class, and the economic status of people,” says Brownshire.
Brownshire see’s graduate school in her future, and her experience at the manor has made her want to go into a historic museum house work or academia so that she can continue researching historical artifacts and the importance of them in whatever community they are found.
Video: Touring the mansion
Thousands of people tour The Centre Furnace Mansion for free each year.
