- Joined
- Feb 20, 2005
- Location
- Ocala, FL (as of December, 2015).
BATHING
By the 1830s, many Americans were bathing on a weekly basis, generally on Saturday night so they would be clean for Sunday services. This was a radical departure from even a generation earlier, when it was only the wealthy orthe eccentric who bathed regularly. A generation before that, bathing had been considered immodest, uncomfortable, and unnecessary, and many people went their entire lives without ever bathing.
In the 1830s, people generally bathed in large wood or tin tubs in front of a fireplace or kitchen stove where water could easily be heated. During this period, the term "bathroom" was used to refer to a room used only for bathing and which did not contain a toilet, as today.
By the mid-1850s, the homes of some affluent people included bathrooms in the modern sense, with both a bathtub and a toilet (one of the first was installed in 1855 in the New York City mansion of George Vanderbilt).
The trend toward bathing more frequently continued after the end of the Civil War. In 1865, Vassar College made it mandatory for girls to bathe twice a week. By the 1880s, an estimated 15 percent of all American city folk had indoor bathrooms of some sort.
Source: Life In Civil War America, by Michael O. Varhola.
By the 1830s, many Americans were bathing on a weekly basis, generally on Saturday night so they would be clean for Sunday services. This was a radical departure from even a generation earlier, when it was only the wealthy orthe eccentric who bathed regularly. A generation before that, bathing had been considered immodest, uncomfortable, and unnecessary, and many people went their entire lives without ever bathing.
In the 1830s, people generally bathed in large wood or tin tubs in front of a fireplace or kitchen stove where water could easily be heated. During this period, the term "bathroom" was used to refer to a room used only for bathing and which did not contain a toilet, as today.
By the mid-1850s, the homes of some affluent people included bathrooms in the modern sense, with both a bathtub and a toilet (one of the first was installed in 1855 in the New York City mansion of George Vanderbilt).
The trend toward bathing more frequently continued after the end of the Civil War. In 1865, Vassar College made it mandatory for girls to bathe twice a week. By the 1880s, an estimated 15 percent of all American city folk had indoor bathrooms of some sort.
Source: Life In Civil War America, by Michael O. Varhola.