The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw great advances in industrialization and the invention of new equipment and machinery to help make work faster and more efficient, but a great many chores still had to be done the old fashioned way -by hand. Large families were common in these times, since children were expected to help with the farm work, or take on other jobs to help support the family and family business. In families where the children were still too young to help (or where the children had grown and left to start families of their own) farmers and businessmen engaged "hired hands" to help them with their work. Many housewives took on hired girls to help them with the cooking, cleaning and running of a large household.

The people who took these jobs were often young single people looking to save enough to make their own way in the world, or sometimes older "bachelors" and "spinsters" who had never married or had a family of their own. Back then, a spinster was any woman over 23 who had not married. The families they worked for usually could not afford to pay them very much, but provided them with food, clothing and a place to live in exchange for their services. This house was originally built for a "Bachelor" or hired hand, and came from a farm not far from the Cedar Rapids Airport. As you can see, it is very simple, with really only enough room for one person!