Demonstration Cooking Kitchen

The Mansfield Historical Society is partnering with the City of Mansfield to build an historically accurate replica of a cooking kitchen on the grounds of the Man House Museum, located at 604 West Broad Street, Mansfield, TX to serve as a Demonstration Cooking Kitchen.

The Man House was built by one of the founders of Mansfield, Ralph Sandiford Man, beginning in the 1860s with a small one room log cabin. As time went on and the family grew, the house grew as well with the addition of a dogtrot and 3 more rooms on the first floor, and finally bedrooms on a second floor. Ralph Man died in 1906, and his family continued to live in the home until the 1940s. 

When the city acquired the home of Mr. Man in 2018, the original kitchen was no longer on the grounds. With the opening of the Man House Museum in 2020, and the endless educational opportunities that it provides, the need for a dedicated kitchen space has become an exciting priority.

The Demonstration Cooking Kitchen will sit approximately where the original kitchen was located as shown in the AI generated image above - it will definitely be bigger ;). It will feature an historically accurate 1860s fireplace for hearth cooking demonstrations, as well as period cookware and other kitchen tools. This is where the Mansfield Historical Society comes in, our fundraising goal for this project is $50,000.00 to cover the cost of the hearth fireplace and chimney. 

The addition of the cooking kitchen will complement the existing Man House Museum in showcasing the various aspects of North Texas living in the 19th century. Several period appropriate demonstrations and classes are planned for the completed Demonstration Cooking Kitchen. 

We are excited to help add this piece to the living history that is the Man House Museum!