Cooking and heating in Colonial America

[firecracker_77]

Just have to jump into this thread.

We have a 1810's farm house, the youngest on our road. Our house was researched for the National Register of Historic Places and the history is well documented. We are the only 5th family to own the house. Our neighbors are 10th generation owners of the same property and our other neighbors, only the 3rd family, have the original deed on parchment, signed by the representative of William Penn.

Our settlement sequence was that the land was cleared first, a rudimentary wood hut was believed to be built, then the barn was built (circa 1795). After a few harvests, a small stone building (with 24" thick walls), was built next to a large spring. This became the Summer Kitchen. A stone cistern was built around the spring to form a pool of easily accessible water. After the family prospered, the main house was built and subsequent generations added to it.

The Summer Kitchen has 3 levels. The main floor and the earth floored basement have huge open hearth fireplaces. The basement has a door which is a short carry to the spring and appears to have been used as a laundry. A huge open wood fire must have boiled water.
The first floor was used as a Summer Kitchen. There are reliable stories of a post holding a bell that was used to summon workers to the summer kitchen for meals.
The upper level has a staircase to what were bedrooms. In all likelihood, the founding family lived there before the main house was built. Certainly, there are nails, hooks and graffiti that indicate that this was used as sleeping quarters, probably until well into the late 1800's.

There were few mortgages in those days and so our main house was built in stages over circa 5 years. The roofers scratched their names and the date on the roof truss timbers, indicating structural completion.
It amazes me that given the size of the fireplaces and the huge open fires that must have been set in them, that Summer Kitchens never burned down. Ours is now used as a shed but is in remarkable condition. Old growth timbers do last well.

As others have pointed out, those old fireplaces had enormous appetites too. Great story.

 

[begreen]

Our family goes back 13 generations in the US. Several of the original houses still remain in use from the early to mid 1700s. I also saw the fireplace in the basement + kitchen above in one house. The explanation I was given was that they lived in the basement during the brutally cold winters and migrated upstairs when outdoor temps warmed up.

The books arrived. They cover from early 1600s to 1800 with an amazing collection of facts and data. The books are broken down into sections on climate, native Americans, the economy, population, diet, religion, govt., the colonies and cities, prominent Americans, education, arts, science, technology, architecture, popular life, recreation, crime, and experiences.

In the section on pre-Revolutionary War houses the author indicates that the average home was quite small and simple. The average size was around 300 sq ft. They consisted typically of 2 rooms with a loft over one section. Their construction depended on the locale. Early New England homes were built stronger and with better foundations than say the Chesapeake area homes. In the later, stone or brick foundations didn't appear until about 1710. As foundations improved so did the sturdiness and size of the homes being built. 500-550 sq ft became the norm in the early 1700's.

Here are a couple floorplans, one of an early home like the Lutkins house pictured, and the other of a saltbox design that became common in New England.

 

[Redbarn]

For anybody interested in books, in 1988, a local Township did a 250 year anniversary book of the Township.

This is still available on amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/History-Towns...8-1988/dp/0974094986/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

This book delves into great detail on early families and taxables, historic architecture, the Schuylkill and Union Canals, mills, schools, and churches amoung other things. It also addresses the relatively newer aspects of the area and local business that were active during the first printing for the 250th year celebration of its founding.

 

[Redbarn]

Found a picture of our Summer Kitchen in local history book.



The exterior was "plastered" with a sand cement mix with horsehair as the binder. Has stood the trest of time well.
Only a single room on each floor. The fireplaces (hearths) are inglenook size and take up about 1/3 of their walls.

 

[Ashful]

Great job at documentation! In what town is this house? The barn in your avatar looks like one I used to see on Upper Stump Road, near Dublin, PA.

When I was young, and most of my grandparents generation was still alive, my family still owned many farms in the family for generations, one since 1692 for which we had the original Penn's grant, signed 1726.

 

[firecracker_77]

Here are a couple floorplans, one of an early home like the Lutkins house pictured, and the other of a saltbox design that became common in New England.

View attachment 72593 View attachment 72594 View attachment 72595

I don't understand the floorplan. It looks like several hearths centrally located, but I only see one chimney on the far right side in the actual picture. How many fireplaces did that house have.

 

[begreen]

The multi-hearth plan is for a saltbox house not shown in a picture. The house in the picture has the floorplan to the left of it, except flipped.

 

[Redbarn]

Great job at documentation! In what town is this house? The barn in your avatar looks like one I used to see on Upper Stump Road, near Dublin, PA.

When I was young, and most of my grandparents generation was still alive, my family still owned many farms in the family for generations, one since 1692 for which we had the original Penn's grant, signed 1726.

Don't want to hijack the thread, but there were only a small number of barn building crews in those times and they would build all the barns in an area. So many barns look the same. PA barn design did evolve over time so a barns design is a powerful method of dating its construction.

The thing that emerges from any history of this period is that the early settlers were very tough and resiliant people. As Begreen notes, they would live in a dirt floored basement near an open fire during sub zero temperatures.

One can appreciate what a major technological breakthrough the Franklin stove was.

 

[firecracker_77]

The multi-hearth plan is for a saltbox house not shown in a picture. The house in the picture has the floorplan to the left of it, except flipped.

I want the multi-hearth design.

 

[Treacherous]

I want the multi-hearth design.

I thought that was pretty cool myself.

 

[jharkin]

Interesting book BeGreen, thanks for the reference, Ill have to grab that for my collection sometime. That Saltbox plan is different... typically, though not always, center chimney houses have a small hallway called the passage in front of the chimney stack. The front door opened there and there would be a very steep wrap around staircase to the second floor.

Our house is a center chimney plan cape - similar to that drawing but with a small entry hall in front of the chimney and a big ell out back. The chimney base is so wide that we have a front closet that's open at the back and you can store stuff in a cavity in the chimney brickwork between the two hearths under where they join at the second floor.

What we dont have however is the big kitchen cooking hearth. We do have a second chimney in the ell with kitchen hearth/ovens. We used to think that the original cooking hearth was removed to use as a flue for the steam boiler when central heat was put in... but now Ive come to suspect it might never have been there at all and the ell could in fact be original to the house and the whole shebang built a lot later than we thought - maybe as late as 1830. This is supported by 19th century cut nails we found in the main house flooring and the fact our kitchen hearth is waaay too small, probably it was used with an early iron cook stove. Either way my house is odd... we have 19th century details but also have 20+ inch floorboards and paneling that look mid 18th century... maybe salvaged.


If you like old house and colonial history books a few others Ive read and and would recommend:

http://www.amazon.com/Where-We-Lived-Discovering-Places/dp/1561588474/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345942317&sr=8-1&keywords=where we lived
Among other things this book documents the fascinating letters written by an Englishman named Edward Perry who was stuck in New England during the revolution. He wrotea lot on daily life and tells of houses the size of my tiny Cape housing families of a dozen +.

http://www.amazon.com/Building-History-Northern-New-England/dp/1584650990/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345943157&sr=1-1&keywords=building history northern new england
Excellent history of how house construction evolved in the Northeast. Written by the first curator of Strawberry Banke museum in NH.

http://www.amazon.com/Big-House-Little-Back-Barn/dp/1584653728/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345943201&sr=1-2&keywords=big house back house
This is about ME/NH/VT farmhouses. Has an interesting history of how they were often added on over time and how things like summer kitchens evolved.

http://www.amazon.com/Homebuilding-Woodworking-Colonial-America-Illustrated/dp/1564400190/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345943321&sr=1-1&keywords=woodworking colonial america
The earlier books covered why things where done, this one if fascinating if you want to know how it was done and the way carpenters worked and the tools they used back then.

http://www.amazon.com/Antique-Houses-Their-Construction-Restoration/dp/0525242295/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345943497&sr=1-1&keywords=antique houses their construction and restoration
This book is really a restorers manual but the first few chapters are of general interest talking about the history of how houses evolved. Lots of great floor plans like BeGreen found and it shows how houses evolved from one room to two, to two over two, capes, colonials, saltboxes, colonials with a leanto and how to tell the difference between a true saltbox and a leanto addition, etc.

Ive got lots more but the rest are mostly restoration guides and I probably overloaded this thread already!

 

[begreen]

House designs also varied regionally. There is a big difference in some saltboxes in MA vs RI for example. In RI lime was more plentiful and strong. They did a variation on the saltbox called the stoneender. The house was characterized by a solid stone wall end, typically on the north side to block the winds. This also held the chimney and main fireplace. Here's an example:

lemence-Iron_House_Johnston.21950541_std.jpg

For lots of great shots and plans of old homes, check out this website. The Thomas Clemence house (stoneender saltbox) is under Rhode Island homes.

http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/list/100_tim2.html

 

[Redbarn]

For lots of great shots and plans of old homes, check out this website. The Thomas Clemence house (stoneender saltbox) is under Rhode Island homes.

http://wwKw.loc.gov/rr/print/list/100_tim2.html

Interesting that Pennsylvania was missing from the list of States with timber frame houses. All the other 13 original colonies, except the Carolinas, are listed. There many, many stone houses in PA. Must be some timber frame houses that survived or merited mention.

 

[Ashful]

I've owned several timber-framed carriage barns in PA, and have been in a few timber-framed houses, albeit much later Victorians. I've never been in an early timber-framed home in PA, but I do know of at least one, which is a private residence.

Some of the timber framed barns I've owned were originally set with the sill plates directly on the dirt, and would've rotted long ago, if not for the actions of previous owners to preserve them. A town where I used to live had a timber framed carriage barn behind every house, each containing an outhouse, and several of them were sinking into the ground for this reason. Others seem to have their sill plates set on a few courses of stone, which either originally or due to age, are now below grade - with the same results.

Reading old deeds and records, it's amazing how many houses and buildings must have been built and razed in this area over the last 350 years. We see these beautiful old stone houses, and criticize our modern construction for being something less, but I believe "common" homes were at least as poorly built 200 years ago as they are today. They're just not standing anymore. What's left are the few exceptional examples built by more wealthy families. One wonders which of todays houses will still be standing and desirable 200 years from now.

... and to keep OT, they were all heated by wood! Some of the poorest and earliest examples with nothing more than a fire pit and a hole in the roof.

 

[Redbarn]

This Franklin stove, invented in 1741, was the Insert of its day.
Anybody got one ? Anybody seen one ?

 

[firecracker_77]

This Franklin stove, invented in 1741, was the Insert of its day.
Anybody got one ? Anybody seen one ?

For some reason I pictured a woodstove as a Franklin Stove. It's still an open fireplace?

 

[Redbarn]

For some reason I pictured a woodstove as a Franklin Stove. It's still an open fireplace?

Me too but check out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_stove

 

[firecracker_77]

Me too but check out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_stove

hahah..I immediately went to google and it sent me to Wikipedia too. So the trick with this thing was it had a hollow chamber which captured some heat and released it out into the room. That and it had a switchback to re-direct air before sending it up the chimney similar to a masonry furnace.

 

[Billybonfire]

This Franklin stove, invented in 1741, was the Insert of its day.
Anybody got one ? Anybody seen one ?

Still in production over here, made by Stovax -
http://www.stovax.com/stoves/traditionalstoves/wood__multi_fuel_stoves/regency_stove.aspx

 

[begreen]

It functions as an inverted siphon. Looking at the original design my first concern was draft reversal. As I read on, it looks like this was an issue.

"Franklin's stove sold poorly.[19] The problem lay with the inverted siphon: the smoke had to pass through a cold flue (which was set in the floor) before the smoke could enter the chimney; consequently, the smoke cooled too much and the stove did not have a good draft.[20]. The inverted siphon would operate properly only if the fire burned constantly so that the temperature in the flue was high enough to produce a draft."

 

[firecracker_77]

View attachment 72644
It functions as an inverted siphon. Looking at the original design my first concern was draft reversal. As I read on, it looks like this was an issue.

"Franklin's stove sold poorly.[19] The problem lay with the inverted siphon: the smoke had to pass through a cold flue (which was set in the floor) before the smoke could enter the chimney; consequently, the smoke cooled too much and the stove did not have a good draft.[20]. The inverted siphon would operate properly only if the fire burned constantly so that the temperature in the flue was high enough to produce a draft."

No insulation back then. I wonder if you didn't have modern insulation, and wanted to insulate with the materials they had at the time and the knowledge you have now, could insulation have been done?

 

[begreen]

They had some insulation - sawdust was commonly used in ice houses to keep pond ice frozen into the summer. Dried moss also worked.

 

[firecracker_77]

Still in production over here, made by Stovax -
http://www.stovax.com/stoves/traditionalstoves/wood__multi_fuel_stoves/regency_stove.aspx

That thing is awesome. It has a swing arm with a grate for BBQ'ing right over the fire. I bet it doesn't rob as much heat from the room as it has a smaller flue than an open fireplace. Either way, there is something to be said for an open hearth and this one is cool

 

[Flatbedford]

Still in production over here, made by Stovax -
http://www.stovax.com/stoves/traditionalstoves/wood__multi_fuel_stoves/regency_stove.aspx

That's pretty much what I replaced with my Fireview.

 

[Billybonfire]

That thing is awesome. It has a swing arm with a grate for BBQ'ing right over the fire. I bet it doesn't rob as much heat from the room as it has a smaller flue than an open fireplace. Either way, there is something to be said for an open hearth and this one is cool

Hi Firecracker,
yes it would look great in the right house wouldnt it, knew I had seen one on the Stovax site, didnt know if you still had them in production in the US, so thought I would attach the link.

Bet they get through a fair bit of wood though !.