Annie E. L. Hobbs lived in Laconia, New Hampshire with her husband. After some deliberation, they decided to attend the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. In the company of a doctor and his wife, they traveled by train to New London, Connecticut, boarded a steamer for New York City, a ferry to Jersey City, and finally, a train to Philadelphia. They spent several days visiting the exhibits and the sights of Philadelphia before retracing their steps back to Laconia, suffering from colds and relieved to be home.
From the guide to the Annie E. L. Hobbs journal, Hobbs, Annie E. L., 1876, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)