THE FIRST FLOOR
The first floor of the Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion is interpreted, in large measure, to the Maxwell years circa 1860. The furnishings and decoration are essentially those of the Civil War period. The dining room and parlor are rich with Rococo revival and Renaissance revival furniture, predominantly machine-made. Ebenezer Maxwell installed all the modern conveniences then available. Gas lighting in the chandeliers and wall sconces would have been supplemented by portable table lamps. The gravity hot air system as fitted in the Mansion was first available in the 1850’s. Click here to view more of the first floor.

THE SECOND FLOOR
The second floor is interpreted to represent the late 1870’s to 1880’s after the Centennial Celebration took place in Philadelphia in 1876 where attendees learned about exotic cultures such as the Far East and Egypt. The fashion at the time was for painted and stenciled wall decoration coupled with elaborate ceiling designs. Click here to view more of the second floor.

THE KITCHEN
In Victorian times the woman of the house supervised what went on in the kitchen. Anna Maxwell had the services of three live-servants to help with the cooking, cleaning, laundering and all the other household and child care tasks. The kitchen was used mostly by the servants and the children, who were expected to be seen and not heard.

The Maxwell kitchen was very innovative for its time and features many labor-saving devices of the Industrial Revolution. The new technology of mechanical gears was applied to apple peelers, meat and coffee grinders, cherry pitters and whips for cream.