Mattox Family Home – The Henry Ford

The Mattox Family Home is now located in Greenfield Village at The Henry Ford. Amos and Grace Mattox raised their two children in this rural farmhouse in Georgia during the United States’ Great Depression of the 1930s.

Life for the Mattox family and other African-American families living in the rural South during this time was hard. It took determination, grit and resourcefulness to provide basic needs for their family.

Getting building materials for home repairs in the southern United States during the Great Depression was difficult and expensive. Families used any resources that were available to them, sometimes even recycling things to be used in new ways.

For example, when the Mattox family needed to repair their roof, they used a discarded sign to fix the problem.

The Mattox family built these birdhouses from gourds grown in the garden to attract a specific type of bird: the purple martin. 

It was important for the family’s health to attract these birds because they ate mosquitoes and other flying insects that had the potential to make them sick.

People living in United States cities during the Great Depression relied heavily on the availability of money to buy food and, therefore, often went hungry. In contrast, farmers in the rural South rarely went hungry because they grew a lot of their own food.

While the Mattox family purchased some food and supplies, they relied on their garden to grow vegetables and grains like corn, sweet potatoes, rice, peas, beans, tomatoes, okra, collard, mustard, and turnip greens.

The Mattox family did not own a refrigerator or even have electricity so they needed to rely on other ways to preserve their food. For example, after a pig was butchered they would hang the hams in the chimney to be smoked for several months.

Smoke from a wood fire creates a protective layer on the meat that prevents the growth of harmful bacteria.

Although much of the Mattox family’s time was spent outside of the home doing chores, the living room acted as a place for family and fun. In the middle of hard economic times caused by the US’ Great Depression of the 1930s, it was important to keep a positive attitude.

In this room the family listened to country music on their hand-cranked phonograph and played games like Checkers. It was also a place for Grace Mattox to show off her decorative style while entertaining guests.

The newspaper on the inside walls of the home acted as insulation and decoration. Insulation helps stop heat from either entering or exiting the home.

This helped the family escape from extreme heat or keep warm when it was cold. They replaced the newspaper on the walls once a year.

The majority of the family’s money and resources went to basic needs like food and shelter. There was not much money left to be spent on fun games and toys. The family improvised by using bottle caps as game pieces for their checkerboard and Grace Mattox made dolls by hand.

Although there were four members of the Mattox family, there was only one bedroom in their home. This was common for many African-American families living in the rural South during the 1930s. 

Amos and Grace slept in the bedroom and their children either slept in the living room or in the attic.

A busy and meticulous housekeeper, Grace Mattox used her needlework skills for more than just clothing. She also sewed quilts for the family’s bedding using leftover flour sacks.

Although ready-made clothing was available for purchase, families living in the rural South saved their money and wore handmade clothing instead. Grace Mattox was a skilled seamstress who made all the clothing for her family.

Food preservation was a vital task in the rural South during the United States’ Great Depression of the 1930s. The Mattox family needed to stretch their food supply as far as possible to ensure that there would be enough food to eat throughout the year. 

The kitchen played a key role in not only cooking food to be eaten but preserving food for future meals.

The Mattox family lived in a swampy region of Georgia which was home to many dangerous insects and animals. To keep safe from these threats, the family regularly swept the dirt in the yard with this broom...

...because it kept dangerous insects and animals like snakes and mosquitoes away from the house. They also swept fancy designs into the dirt to make the yard more attractive, especially during holidays.

Families living in the rural South during this time freely shared extra produce and food they made with friends and neighbors. The Mattox family gave their extra canned goods to needy neighbors.

Grace Mattox prepared many meals on the wood burning stove by herself. But when it came to canning food, it was a team effort. Both children helped with various tasks, like boiling and peeling tomatoes, to prepare food for canning. 

The Mattox family spent the majority of their time working outside in the backyard, which was not uncommon for African-American families living in the rural South. The Mattox family took care of their animals, prepared food for themselves, and completed household chores.

In order to finish all of their duties, the family worked together. When Amos found work away from the home, Grace took charge of the household duties along with their children. 

The Mattox family boiled water for laundry inside this large black pot. After a family member scrubbed the laundry against a washboard with soap and water, it would be placed in this pot.

The boiling water killed insects, like lice that could be on the laundry. A family member needed to check and stir the laundry as it boiled in the pot.

Spending the majority of your time working outside during the hot summer months in southern Georgia was difficult. The Mattox family built a grape arbor to provide a cool, shady space for household chores like laundry.

The Mattox family raised chickens that could be used for both eggs and meat. Each chicken could lay about 170 eggs per year. The coop protected the family’s chickens from bad weather and predators. It was an important job to feed and give fresh water to these animals every day.