Gas Heater Used by the Jackson Family, Selma, Alabama

THF804250 / Gas Heater Used by the Jackson Family, Selma, Alabama

Artifact Overview

In 2023, The Henry Ford acquired the Selma, Alabama, home of Dr. Sullivan and Richie Jean Sherrod Jackson, where Dr. Martin Luther King and Civil Rights leaders planned the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery Voting Rights marches. The Jackson Home opened in Greenfield Village in 2026. The home and its contents not only document the voting rights struggle but also shed light on 20th-century Black American middle-class life.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Heater

Date Made

1940-1950

Creators

Jackes-Evans Manufacturing Company

Place of Creation

United States, Missouri, St. Louis

Location

at Greenfield Village in Dr. Sullivan & Mrs. Richie Jean Sherrod Jackson Home

Object ID

2023.50.1299

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Material

Metal
Brick (Clay material)
Copper (Metal)

Color

Multicolored

Dimensions

Height: 21.25 in
Width: 12.375 in
Length: 20.25 in
Width: 15.875 in (Width with conduit pipe)

Inscriptions

lower front center: Hearth Glo left side toward bottom: [American Gas Assocation safety seal] / Hearth Glo / Model R-20 Series C / 20000 Input B.T.U. PER HR / Jackes-Evans Mfg. Co. / St. Louis, Mo. / [instructional text]

Keywords	United States, Alabama, Selma Heating Heaters Heat-distributing units Jackson, Sullivan M., 1921-2004 Jackson, Richie Jean Sherrod, 1932-2013 Jackson, Jawana V.

Related Artifacts

Artifact
Dr. Sullivan & Mrs. Richie Jean Sherrod Jackson Home
The home of Dr. Sullivan and Richie Jean Jackson, originally located in Selma, Alabama, is a Civil Rights Movement landmark. The home served as a refuge where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other leaders worked, collaborated, strategized, and planned the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery marches. These marches led to the signing of the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965.