Just a few blocks from downtown Council Bluffs, the General Dodge House sits as an homage to time. It houses more than seven thousand relics from the General. Dodge was Ulysses S. Grant's an intelligence chief during the civil war. From then to 1916, five presidents visited him and his family in the home.
Through September, the house has a somber theme. If you walk through it and think "who died", that's exactly what they want you to think. The house has been recreated for the 100 year anniversary of the general's passing. Black wreaths hang outside, black fabric hangs inside, and the clocks are stopped at three (the time the general died). They've even placed sashes over the pictures of the general and covers over the mirror.
"Some of it was superstition, the mirrors were covered because you didn't want the sun to come in and bounce of the mirror and shine on you, that would mean you were the next to die," Kori Nelson, Executive Director of the Dodge House said.
After the Civil War, Dodge served as a U.S. congressman, businessman, and railroad executive. He helped lead the construction of the transcontinental railroad, making big money for the big house. In the Victorian era, it was typical for people to live out their lives in their homes. Dodge died upstairs in his house, he was embalmed there too. The home's replica of the casket in the front parlor room is exactly what it looked like a hundred years ago (minus one thing). The victorian era has given us a few funeral traditions we still keep today.
"Because medial procedures and testing weren't the most accurate back in that time, the wake was this rip roaring party. Essentially, they would have {it} before the funeral, with the thought that if the person was in a coma, they would certainly wake up and join in the festivities. And if they weren't waking up, they were truly dead and it was ok to bury them," Nelson said.
Today, some of those phrases and traditions happen. People typically still dress in black for mourning.
"You may have heard the phrase you'll have to drag me outta here feet first. That basically stems with the idea that when the body would be taken out. Their face of the person looked out to the street, and not back on the house, as if they were wanting to stay and inhabit the house after death," Nelson said.
The historic home is open 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Saturday, and 1 pm to 5 pm on Sunday. The last tour begins at 4 pm. General Admission is Adults, $7; Seniors (over 62), $5; Students (6-16), $3; Children (under 6), free. For more information, visit dodgehouse.org.
