Rock!

Imagine:  sitting out on the porch in a rocking chair, drinking iced tea.  Okay, this might be a wish for consistently warmer weather but that day will come!  Until then, consider a critical element in that vision:  rocking chairs, like the wonderful example that we have in the Virgil and Thelma Linam Collection.  Much research has been done concerning the history of rocking chairs but historians have been unable to agree on what its origins might be.

Rocking chairs can be seen as an American passion but the idea of something rocking goes back much farther.  Designboom.com claims that the rocking chair evolved from the cradle and the rocking horse.  This makes sense.  As discussed in one of my earlier articles, the cradle gives a very soothing, rocking motion for an infant.  The rocking chair, therefore, also gives a soothing motion for anyone who sits in it.  Along with this, according to rockingchairjack.com, “There is an ergonomic benefit associated with rocking chairs as well.  Due to the center of gravity of the user being met and the angle utilized, the rocking chair leaves its user at an almost weightless state.”  There are differing opinions as to whether the rocking chair originated in England in the early 1700’s or whether Benjamin Franklin created the chair by attaching the rockers from a baby’s cradle to an ordinary chair.  Either way, the Windsor rocking chair, named for its place of origin in England, became the model that many rocking chairs were based off of thereafter.  Early rocking chairs were made to be outdoor garden chairs and were a standard for relaxation.  Today, rocking chairs are still used both inside and outside.

Rocking chair designs have evolved over time but the main principal still exists:  only two points of the chair touch the floor at a time allowing for the rocking motion.  Next time you find yourself sitting in a rocking chair, allow yourself a moment to contemplate the soothing nature of the chair and thank whoever it was who created the concept of the rocking chair.  To see our rocking chair from the Virgil and Thelma Linam Collection, please visit the South Gallery of the Western Heritage Museum Complex and Lea County Cowboy Hall of Fame.  And while you’re here, don’t miss our traveling exhibit in the North Gallery:  Eyes on Earth.  We look forward to seeing you!