The Kitchen
Narrated by Volunteer Museum Tour Guide Chris Shaw
You just came down the servant’s stairs to the Kitchen. These spaces had to undergo complete restoration in the 1970s as they had served as multiple modern kitchens at a later time in the house’s history. During the Brown’s time, this would have been a bustling hub of servant activity, as they prepared meals, managed the household, and received deliveries. The kitchen also includes two pantries, one for the china and silver, and one for canned goods and pots and pans. No doubt the combination wood and coal burning stove was kept fired up all the time which would have made the kitchen the warmest room in the house.
The Kitchen 1970.
In the 1900 census the Brown’s had five servants, including a cook, a maid, and a hostler who cared for the horses. Those servants lived here on site, while others were ‘day help’ and had homes of their own to return to in the evening. We know, for instance, that a Mary O’Fallon was the Brown’s Cook in 1904 and she was paid about $40 per month in wages. Margaret treated her servant’s well - she paid them better and offered tutors for those without a basic education.
In addition to the house here, the Browns had a summer home, Avoca Lodge, which they built 12 miles away near Morrison, Colorado. It was here that J.J. started a poultry business, raising prize-winning chickens and pigeons, with coops that held over 10,000 birds. These birds were sold to restaurants around the city, and also served here at 1340 Penn.
Avoca Lodge built by J.J and Margaret Brown
It was here that J.J. planted crops of alfalfa, wheat, and experimental sugar beets, as he was an investor, along with mining partner John Campion, in Colorado's early sugar beet industry. There are numerous newspaper articles that tell of picnics, barn dances, and all manner of entertaining done by the family at Avoca Lodge. While not a museum, you can still visit this home which serves as an event center.
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Do you have any of these gadgets in your kitchen?