Q: We bought an arts and crafts style home, built in 1913 in a historic district of San Diego. There is a round circle of brass about two inches in diameter in the middle of the dining room floor. There are three holes in the brass for prongs to be inserted. Could it have been a servant’s bell?

A: Servants’ bells were used to summon servants in homes built for the wealthy. By the early 20th century, bells were electric and were wired from various rooms in the house to the servants’ area. The bell in the middle of the dining room floor would have been near the head of the dining room table. Wires from the bell led to the kitchen. Someone sitting at the table could step on the bell to call a servant to bring the next course. The holes in the brass may be where the bell or the wires were attached to the plate in the floor.

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