You are standing in front of a graphic panel titled “House History: 1841 House.” To your left is a graphic panel titled “SERC’s Campus and the Surrounding Area: 1776 to 1865.” To your right is a reader rail titled “Window on the Past: Working in the Fields.”

The graphic panel in front of you includes text and three images.

The main text reads:

HOUSE HISTORY
1841 House

In 1841, Alfred Sellman and his family added a three-story extension to their home, built and funded by slave labor.

The fashionable new house combined elements of Greek Revival and Federal styles. It included fine moldings, imported mantles, an elegant side hall, and large, airy parlors. These elements showcased the Sellmans’ wealth and their knowledge of the latest fashions.

The accompanying drawing shows what the house may have looked like in 1841. It shows a three-story addition on the left attached to the original 1735 house, which has been reduced in length to make way for the new addition.

Two photos are headlined “House History Clues”:

A photo of chalk writing discovered on rafters in the attic, which indicates that this part of the house was built in 1841 by Daniel G. Fitzsimmons, a carpenter from Baltimore.

A photo of the word “London,” written on a wooden beam, which may refer to nearby London Town.