Cabinets serve as social commentators in Nancy Hiller talk

From the early 19th century to the present, cabinets have played a vital role in the construction of a social identity in America.

Bloomington cabinetmaker Nancy Hiller provided a brief history of cabinets and their transformation of the kitchen space to an audience of approximately 40 people at the Monore County History Center.

“The Hoosier cabinet has really played a substantial role in shifting America from a country of production to one of consumption,” Hiller said.

She began the talk by pointing out that the appearance of kitchens has drastically changed throughout the years.

“Kitchens have not always looked this way,” Hiller said.

She showed slides of earlier kitchens that existed right in the open living space and discussed the high amount of kitchen labor associated with this system. She said that the kitchen at this time was largely run by domestic servants who by and large loathed their tedious jobs.

Once women no longer had domestic servants, they were overwhelmed by the amount of physical work there was to do in the kitchen. Hiller said sisters Catharine Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe attempted to solve this problem in their book “The American Woman’s Home” by creating the idea of cabinets.

A few decades later, the Hoosier cabinet was invented. The Hoosier cabinet drastically changed the dynamics in the kitchen. Hiller said it made life easier for women and took away the amount of steps they had to take to prepare meals.

Hoosier cabinet marketing designers created extravagant ads, which were targeted at alluring women and men to purchasing a Hoosier cabinet.

“They promised that cabinets would also get you sex,” Hiller said.

She displayed a wide array of advertisements from the period that promised less stress, better food, happier wives and even the ability to retain one’s youth. The ads also depicted a women in a work apron with her well-dressed husband by her side.

Hiller said both women and men wanted a Hoosier cabinet because it cemented their role in society.

“Women really wanted their work and contribution to society to be appreciated,” Hiller said. “The ads are absolutely brilliantly filled with visual and written claims.”

After Hoosier cabinets loss their popularity, Hiller said the build in cabinets took over the kitchen scene.

Though the Hoosier cabinet is no longer a household name, many people such as Rachel McCarty, a member of the center’s historical society, and Bloomington resident B.J. McElroy still own them.

“I have it in my dining room and I still use it,” McElroy said. “I love things that originate here in Indiana.”

All three generations of her family were present at Hiller’s talk. McElroy said she brought her daughter Courtney Vencel and mother Juanita Hendricks with her because she likes to share Indiana history as a family.

“I learned the appreciation of antiques from my mom and now I am sharing this tradition with my daughter” McElroy said.


McCartney said that though she does not use her Hoosier cabinet, it is an important part of remembering Indiana history. After the talk, she said she now further appreciates the work and history that is connected to the cabinet.

“You don’t think about how hard it was back then,” McCartney said. “The kitchen really has changed. I could not imagine living that way now.”