The main bedroom of the mansion houses the beautiful canopy bed and other Victorian furnishings which belonged to Dr. John Robertson and his wife Lydia. The French Legation was the home of the Robertson family from 1848-1940. This long single family occupancy preserved both the house and the memory of its history.

The smaller bedroom in the house was used by the Robertson children. There were eleven of them, eventually! The younger children probably slept in trundle beds, which were pushed under the large beds to save space in the daytime but even so, the house must have been crowded.

Thomas William Ward, the second Mayor of Austin, is said to have purchased the armchair (shown to the far right of this photograph) and the settee of the Legation when it was closed in April, 1842. Emma Kyle Burleson, an early member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, eventually came into ownership of the pieces and preserved them. They are now two of only three furnishings in the museum original to the time when the house was the Legation of France.

An elegant pianoforte, complete with sheet music, and a chess set standing on an inlaid game table are on display in the parlor. These show the museum visitor how Monsieur Dubois de Saligny, or any other genteel 19th century host or hostess, might have entertained guests.

Under the Legation house is the cellar, built for wine storage. This is typically a French feature. Bottles that probably date from the period of the original construction of the building are presented here. They were found during archeological excavations of the museum grounds.