Elmwood Mansion

The Elmwood Mansion has two attics. One covers 2/3 of the room, while another covers 1/3. Prior to the Civil War, York Bank director Jacob Brillinger used the attics to hide runaway slaves. A bearing wall, which supports the house structure, separated the two attics. The large attic contained two trap doors. One door dropped into a third floor bedroom while the other dropped into a back hallway which led down a staircase into the kitchen. The common escape route for slaves was through this back staircase and hallway. The smaller attic also had one trap door. The role of the smaller attic in the concealment of fugitives is unclear.

Front view of the Mansion.

Side view of the Mansion, showing the location of the kitchen door.

The kitchen door from the inside. There was originally a small staircase in the column next to the

refrigerator at left (the column now houses an electric dumbwaiter). The staircase led to all of the

floors of the Mansion and the attic. Although the Mansion remains relatively untouched on the outside,

the interior has been extensively renovated.

The original location of the small staircase on one of the floors of the Mansion.

The present entrance to the attic.

Due to the extensive renovation of the interior of the Elmwood Mansion, these images of the attic

are rather unremarkable.

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