The technological possibilities of our modern world are truly amazing.

But what a brave new world it was in 1890 when George Vanderbilt began planning for his 250-room Biltmore Estate, situated on 125,000 acres of over-farmed Blue Ridge terrain. He had grown up along New York’s Fifth Avenue and had already, at age 28, traveled the world. In 1892 at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, he witnessed firsthand an explosion of ideas. He had, in other words, stood at the edge of a new century and seen the future--a world propelled by technology and invention.

Vanderbilt’s belief in the technological achievements of his day is evident throughout Biltmore Estate, where he employed the latest, most up-to-date systems and innovation. From the incorporation of electricity, central heat and indoor plumbing to the inclusion of some of the earliest Otis elevators in America, a sophisticated call system for servants and an indoor drying chamber for laundry. Vanderbilt’s mansion showcased the best thinking of his time.

Beginning June 12, an exhibition entitled The Comforts of Home: Turn of the Century Technology at Biltmore Estate will let modern-day guests examine the ingenuity which made Biltmore House a wonder when it was completed in 1895.

Mr. Vanderbilt’s guests were largely unaware of the many innovations of the Estate. They simply enjoyed their benefits. One such guest was Mrs. George Vanderbilt’s sister, Pauline Dresser Merrill, who visited Biltmore often. In March 1905, she posted a letter to a close friend who lived near Mrs. Merrill’s home in Buffalo, NY. the letter describes in vivid detail her time at Biltmore—where she stayed what the course of her day was like, the specifics of dining in the huge Banquet Hall.

This letter, recently acquired by Biltmore Estate, becomes a fascinating storytelling vehicle for The Comforts of Home exhibition. By tracing the day she describes, guests to the exhibition will be able to glimpse behind the scenes at the various technologies implemented both in preparation for her visit and during her stay—all designed to make her time with her sister, Edith, and her brother-in-law George Vanderbilt, a pleasurable experience.

The exhibition, located on the third floor of Biltmore House, will feature examinations of the various systems in the home, including the electrical, heating and plumbing systems. Replications of several rooms—the laundry, the bedroom where Mrs. Merrill was a guest, the Banquet Hall and Butler’s Pantry—as well as interpretations of the Otis dumbwaiter and the two Otis elevators in the house, are in the display. The elevators, one passenger and the other a freight elevator, are thought to be the oldest operating electric models in the U.S. Otis Elevator Company the American company which pioneered the development of vertical transportation systems, is sole sponsor of the exhibition at Biltmore Estate.

The exhibition is offered as part of a regular visit to Biltmore Estate, which includes a self-guided tour of Biltmore House, a visit to Biltmore Estate Winery, and access to the grounds and gardens, the work of America’s premiere landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted.

Biltmore Estate, a National Historic Landmark, is a private home, still owned by George Vanderbilt’s grandson, William Cecil. It is open to the public year-round except on Thanksgiving and Christmas Days.