Little Loomhouse/Lou Tate
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(502) 367-4792NileGuide Expert tip:
Little Loomhouse is truly off the beaten path, on a narrow road in a residential area - just keep driving until it pops up on your right.Description:
In Louisville, you can visit the grave of Patty Smith Hill, one of the sisters responsible for writing the "Happy Birthday" song, at Cavehill Cemetery; you can also visit Little Loomhouse, where the sisters first sang the song at a birthday party. Little Loomhouse consists of three cabins (all three are on the National Register of Historic Places) that served as Master Weaver Lou Tate's home, storage area, and workshop. Tate taught at President Herbert Hoover's Dark Hollow School for mountain children in Virginia, and her connections to Mrs. Hoover led to the design of the Lou Tate Table Loom (the Little Loom). In 1933, Tate started a custom weaving business, the Loom Room. Eleanor Roosevelt visited and commissioned table linens for the White House. Visitors to the Little Loomhouse can see an extra copy of the linens, as well as Roosevelt's letter requesting them, and a copy of the check paying Tate for her work. These and other weaving and spinning artifacts are on display in the Esta Cabin.The third cabin up the hill, Tophouse, houses a workshop where visitors can weave on a Lou Tate table loom. Little Loomhouse also offers weaving classes, and visitors can purchase woven handcrafts, clothing items, and yarn from the gift shop located in Wisteria, the second cabin.
Drop-in visitors are welcome Tuesday through Thursday and the third Saturday of the month from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. School and group tours are also available. Tours cost $3.50, and an individual weaving lesson, $10.
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