The Brown House Welcome Center now has “Mourning and Funeral Customs of the Victorian Era,” on display. Highlighted are mourning wear and traditions surrounding death during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Sonia Duggan/The Wylie News

The Brown House Visitor Center in Wylie is opening two exciting new exhibits, each steeped in history and intrigue, which are sure to entertain visitors this fall.

One of the exhibits, titled “Mourning and Funeral Customs of the Victorian Era,” delves into the somber yet fascinating traditions surrounding death during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 

Tracy Lawson, who curated the exhibit, highlighted some of the key pieces on display, including a collection of authentic mourning gowns. 

“These are all from 1890 to 1910,” Lawson said, pointing out that while the child’s gown and the man’s ensemble were recreated, the women’s gowns are original. One gown from the 1890s remains entirely intact, down to the shawl’s white collar and trim. 

“The trim and shawl were added later when the widow entered a later stage of mourning,” Lawson said. “At first, it would have been all black. As you moved through the different phases, you could incorporate colors like white, lilac, or gray.” 

Lawson described the strict social rules that guided mourning attire, emphasizing how it signaled when a widow was ready to reenter society. For men, the process was much shorter. “If your wife died, you wore a wider black band called a ‘weeper,’ but men only mourned for a couple of months,” she said, attributing the brevity to practical concerns, such as finding a new wife to care for children. In contrast, women typically mourned for two years.

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