The Pantries are coming to Life!

What are you seeing? Years of research, creation and execution by a team of talented people.

Several years ago, it was discovered that the two pantries on the main floor of the mansion were covered in wallpaper that resembled wood graining. (The Acklens didn’t just have faux graining on wood-work – they included the walls of these crucial workspaces!) To restore those rooms Grace Abernethy recreated a full section of the wallpaper which was then digitized. Belmont Mansion staff member Danielle Ullrich then fitted the images together into a full digital file which could be printed. Chromatics, a local fine art and photography printing company, printed rolls of wallpaper that exactly mimicked the historic paper.

Recently, Kemp Wallcoverings installed the paper. Pat Edwards Electric then installed in the room the two 19th century gasoliers which @Hillsborohardware had re-assembled. The result is tremendous and a huge step forward in the accurate depiction of this 19th century house. It could not have been done without the work of each of these people who excel in their crafts.

The pantries were rooms exclusively used by the enslaved, free Black or European immigrants. The service pantry, pictured here, is now accessible to visitors. This small room is filled with cabinets, shelves, and work tables where a cook and assistants plated and served the meals eaten in the family and formal dining rooms. These rooms provide essential backdrops for sharing the story of the people who worked at Belmont Mansion.