Historic Furnishing Report, Building 40, The Ready-Made Clothing Store.

Petravage, Carol; Gladding, Karen

Building 40 is located on the north side of Shenandoah Street in lower town Harpers Ferry. The "Interpretive Prospectus" recommends that building 40 be used "for the duration of restoration in the town as a workshop where contractors' carpenters can have indoor space to do various kinds of wood work." However, the "Interpretive Prospectus" also indicates that additional structures may be historically furnished if they will "add to major theme interpretation." The ready-made clothing industry illustrates several aspects of technological history: the concept of interchangeable parts, the practice of division of labor, the exploitation of semi-skilled labor in order to cut production costs, and the evolution of modern distribution and marketing systems. In order to maintain the interpretive integrity of the furnished structures along Shenandoah Street and to facilitate the use of interpreters costumed to the pre-Civil War period, it was decided to install an 1850s clothing store despite the fact that the Denver Service Center was restoring the exterior of the building to its 1881 appearance. In order to accomplish this, partitions were installed on the first floor to re-create the three rooms that probably existed there in the 1850s. The design of the partitions incorporates a reveal to indicate that these partitions did not exist in the 1881 structure.