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The Candy Mansion

The Hebert Candy Mansion bears the distinction of being the first roadside retail confectionery operation in the United States. Frederick Hebert purchased the "Mansion" in 1946, prior to that time Mansion was a private home. The Tudor Style stone building was constructed between 1916 and 1917 by a wealthy family from Boston. The original property included several buildings and was a working farm, about 300 acres in size. One of the original garage buildings still stands to the east of the Mansion property, and up until a few years ago, the remnants of a large barn, ice house and other out buildings could be seen on neighboring parcels of land. The house had a large swimming pool at the back and commanding views of the surrounding countryside. The glass enclosed rooms on the second floor corners of the back and right the building are sleeping porches, used to get a comfortable night's rest in the summer time before air conditioning became available.

Mr. Hebert designated the first floor of the Mansion as his retail store and furnished it with antique lights and artwork. Distinctive wrought iron and glass tables were custom made for the store and are still in use today. An addition to the back of the Mansion created an ice cream parlor on the first floor and a large kitchen on the basement level. In fact, the interior walls of the ice cream parlor are actually the original exterior stone walls of the Mansion. The second floor of the Mansion was used as office space, and the top floor was made into a caretaker's apartment. A caretaker lived on the property until the mid 1990's, not only for security, but also for convenience - the caretaker would set temperatures on chocolate tanks and set up batches of ingredients late at night or early in the morning to prepare for the next day of manufacturing.

The Mansion still retains its original elegance, most rooms feature decorative paneling with raised moldings, painted canvas ceilings and antique wallpaper. Fireplace hearths and mantels are original to the house. The upper floor bedrooms (now used as offices) have large walk in closets, hardwood floors, and share baths with antique fixtures. The impressive front staircase is used for seasonal decorations and displays; employees use a parallel set of "back stairs" to get from floor to floor. Our employee cafeteria is the basement level game room, which originally overlooked the swimming pool.

The Mansion complex was further expanded in the 1980's with two large additions to the back for manufacturing and warehouse space.