Metal pot scrubbers were used to scour heavy cookware in the 19th century. This one was used by Frances Mercer McCallister, who came to the Seattle area in 1863 when she was two years old. She married John W. H. McCallister who ran a brickyard near the Duwamish River in South Seattle. The McCallister home was near the brickyard, and Frances recalled watching the Great Seattle Fire of 1889 from the hill by her home. The couple had five children: John, Olive, Tommy, Grace, and Joy. Frances’s uncle was Asa Mercer, known for bringing the “Mercer Girls” to Seattle and the first president of the University of Washington.