The sign outside 240 W. Mason St., in Norfolk’s Freemason District, reads Hunter House Victorian Museum. A step inside the front parlor, where the floors creak and tea is served, presents a different vibe.
Almost nothing is behind glass or roped off.
You’re home, just as James Wilson Hunter and his wife, Lizzie Ayer Barnes Hunter, were when this house was built in the Gilded Age.
“It’s like you’re walking back in time,” said Hanna Kirby, director of the museum’s operations and communications. “You’re stepping into the living room of the family that lived here in 1894.”
The Hunters raised three children here, all of whom lived in the home for the duration of their lives. When the youngest, Eloise Hunter, died in 1965, she left instructions to transition the home into a nonprofit to preserve its Victorian art and Romanesque architecture.
While an active museum membership of 60 supports programming, the Hunter's annual fundraiser is this Saturday. It is partnering with the Historic Martin Mansion in Ghent to host “Revelry & Restoration: An Evening in the Age of Shakespeare.”
The evening includes costumed characters, mead tasting, a silhouette class, a scavenger hunt and demonstrations from the Tidewater Renaissance Fighting Arts. Proceeds benefit the organizations and will fund the overdue refinishing of the museum's natural hardwood floors.
Also scheduled for the spring, Core Theatre Ensemble brings its production of the Lizzie Borden murder case as part of the Norfolk Theatre Festival. All four shows are sold out.
Since 1988, Hunter House has told the stories of the 18th and 19th centuries through the Hunter family. While many small museums face financial challenges or even extinction, Hunter House Museum has survived.
A board of trustees manages the trust for the Hunter Foundation, which also includes a residential home for senior men on Duke Street. In addition to the fundraiser, the museum raises money through monthly themed teas, murder mysteries and its gift shop.
Admission is free to keep the museum consistent with its mission to be accessible for all.
Proximity to the water makes the museum walkable for tourists fresh off cruise ships. Type “free museums in Norfolk” in a search engine, and Hunter House ranks high.
“When people get off the boat, they usually find us,” said executive museum director Renee Evans.
A second-floor gift shop is full of Victorian trinkets, including teas named for members of the Hunter family.
Tucked into the cobble-stoned residential neighborhood, the museum is often overlooked by locals. Norfolk native Lynn Hembree is among those who didn’t discover the museum for decades. Now she’s an enthusiastic member and regular tea-goer.
The teas combine sweet and savory snacks with jam or curd and Miss Eloise afternoon tea, a signature blend. Costumes are encouraged, but many use the elegant afternoons as an opportunity for a meetup.
“It’s a good time for all of us ladies to be able to get together, sit down, put the cell phones away and have a cup of tea with sweets,” said Hembree, who dressed as a witch for the Halloween tea last fall.
When younger people engage with the museum, it’s usually as volunteers. Docents can tailor their tours to what interests them most.
“We’re very, very lucky that we have dedicated members,” Kirby said. “We have people who have come to every tea since 1988.”
Every room tells a story. The family kept no diaries, but clues from the artifacts reveal their lives. Nearly everything from the family’s years remains, from the sterling silverware to Lizzie’s secretary desk to grocery receipts and gas bills.
None of the children married, but, like their parents, they lived active lives.
The elder James Hunter ran a booming dry goods business. He later profited as a banker and was a councilman, a vestryman for St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, and fire chief. His son James Jr., a cardiologist and radiologist, wrote for national medical publications. Eloise and her sister, Harriet, were active in multiple civic organizations and traveled extensively. They were at the opening of the Panama Canal and took a 1910 trip around Europe.
The home contains nine ornate fireplaces, including one on the landing of the spiraling staircase that leads to the nine bedrooms.
Hunter House closes for the first three months of each year for restoration, from weatherproofing the front door affected by excess salt in the air to mortaring the eroded areas of the brick.
Visit hunterhousemuseum.org for tickets and more information.
