Realigning the Museum's Decor with Historical Research

During the 21st century, the Trent House has once again undergone significant changes - this time in its interior decor and furnishing and in its interpretation of the Trent household and of the other people who lived on the property and in the house that Trent once owned. 

Interior Design

The interior has a central floor plan, with a large entry and staircase and four rooms on each floor, and is little altered, retaining its the original stairway and floor boards. The nine fireplaces and cellar kitchen hearth are all in good condition, with one fireplace on the second floor surrounded by its original Delft tiles.  ​

Interior Decor and Furnishing

The period when the house was originally restored in the 1930s was at the end of a period that began in 1876 with the celebration of the nation's 100th anniversary and continued into the 20th century. This was a period in which industrialization and immigration had changed the country's economic and social profile. Many Americans who saw themselves as the descendants and protectors of the country's founding culture looked to preserve images of that idealized past. The "colonial revival" movement influenced architecture and interior design, both in new construction and in preservation of colonial era buildings like the Trent House. 

The photographs below illustrate how this movement affected the way the house was furnished and decorated. 

1949

1970s

1970s

Paint analysis and historical research ​has updated how the interior decor appears today. The interior walls were plastered over oak plank and lath and then whitewashed. Window sashes and most hardware were imported. Wood paneling and trim were finished with a yellow/white semi-gloss oil, with baseboards and baseboard height accents on trim and doors painted in gloss black made of lamp black and linseed oil.

​​The interior of the House is furnished with period-appropriate antique and reproduction items, based on the probate inventory conducted in 1726 after Trent’s death.​

Updated Interpretation of the Trent Household

While the probate inventory documents that William Trent had eleven enslaved people at the time of his death, earlier interpretation focused on Trent himself and to some extent his second wife Mary Coddington Trent. At the same time that the interior of the house was being redecorated and refurnished, research was commissioned to understand what the six enslaved people who likely worked and lived in the house with the Trent family would have worn and used in their daily activities as well as what their probable positions in the household would have been. Based on that and ongoing research, the Trent House now