Legacy
Modern washing machines and clothes dryers have changed the concept of home laundry. No longer do women spend two days of each week keeping the family's clothes and household textiles clean. The collection at the Animas Museum preserves the memory of these tasks and makes us appreciate what we have today.
Mrs. Lawrence Hickman collected most of the irons in the Animas Museum's Collection. She donated what was at the time one of the largest collections of irons in the country to the Four Corners Museum Association in the 1950s. When the FCMA was disbanded in 1979, most of their collections were given to the newly established La Plata County Historical Society.
A good source to learn more about women's work is Susan Strasser's book "Never Done: A History of American Housework" available at amazon.com