Dining Room

The dining room was not only used for the daily meals of the McHenry’s, but played a vital role in entertainment since most entertaining of that time revolved around food.  Oramil and his wife, Myrtie, did an extensive amount of entertaining. One event that was reported in the local newspaper was a St. Patrick’s Day party. Many of the guests arrived in costume. There was a band and a series of dances. At midnight a supper was served. Because many guests came from considerable distances by horse and buggy, social functions usually lasted until the wee hours of the morning and in some instances, guests would be going home as the sun was coming up.

The dining room’s chandelier is probably by Thackera and Sons of Philadelphia. The wallpaper is a reproduction by Zena Studios of Port Chester, New York. The green and gold colorway is not the original or document colorway, but is in a typical muddy color palate of the period. The windows are dressed with walnut cornice boxes. These are adjustable to fit the width of the window and have a stenciled patent date of 1885 on the inside. The velvet panels along with the mantel lambrequin are embroidered with an elegant design.

The oak flooring has a parquet border. Borders such as this were actually manufactured in strips with a canvas backing. For installation the carpenter just cut it to length.

The walnut, Renaissance Revival style dining room table is expandable. It can hold twelve leaves. Eighteen guests can be seated comfortably at the table. The centerpiece as well as the candelabra are silver plate and were made by the English firm of Elkington and Company.

The walnut over-mantel mirror is original to the McHenry Mansion and is in the Eastlake style. Decorating the mantel is a bride’s basket. The silver-plated base featuring an Indian and a rabbit is by Meriden Britannia and Company.

The serving table holds a number of silver-plated serving pieces. The water tippler with its two goblets held water for the members of the household since the kitchen was strictly the domain of the cook and servants. The footed, handled piece is a cake basket. Also in silver-plate, this could be used to hold a variety of finger foods such as petit fours. The squirrel on the dish could only signify its use for holding nuts. The large “egg-shaped” piece is a butter dish with a revolving lid. Ice could be placed in the bottom of the dish to keep the butter cold. The wire rack was for toast. The tall glass vase with the feather motif was a celery vase. Celery at that time was considered very special and unique so the Victorians had a container just for holding the stalks.

The largest painting in this room is called “Westward the Course of Empire”. It was painted by John W. Bell in 1867. On the adjoining wall is a painting featuring dead game. Rabbits and ducks were typical fare and the Victorians thought nothing of illustrating these things in the dining room.

The walnut Renaissance Revival sideboard also echoes this theme with the carved deer’s head. The antlers are real. The tea set is decorated with oriental themes including birds. This silver-plated piece is by Meriden Britannia and Company. Surrounding the sideboard are hand-painted Limoges plates.