What’s this in my basement?!

[Wny123]

Hi, I have what looks like a fireplace in my basement. What do you think? The house was built in 1848 from hemlock timbers and constructed using mortise and tenon joints in western NY. Was this a summer kitchen? It seems to be partially under what is now a staircase- there is no chimney, and this is the outer wall of the house. Any ideas/thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

 

[bholler]

Hi, I have what looks like a fireplace in my basement. What do you think? The house was built in 1848 from hemlock timbers and constructed using mortise and tenon joints in western NY. Was this a summer kitchen? It seems to be partially under what is now a staircase- there is no chimney, and this is the outer wall of the house. Any ideas/thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

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Is there an opening in the top where it would have connected to a chimney? Is there evidence there was a chimney above it at one point? It certainly looks like an old fireplace but many in our area look like that in the basement but we're just foundations for fireplaces above.

 

[begreen]

In the town of Pound Ridge, NY several houses there had basement fireplaces. The winters were harsh and people lived in the basement during the coldest part in order to take advantage of the insulating properties of the earth surrounding the foundation. These pictures resemble what I saw when visiting some of these pre-revolutionary war homes.

 

[Wny123]

Is there an opening in the top where it would have connected to a chimney? Is there evidence there was a chimney above it at one point? It certainly looks like an old fireplace but many in our area look like that in the basement but we're just foundations for fireplaces above.

Thank you!
I cleared out the spiders and looked up inside… no hole. I couldn’t find any evidence of there ever being a chimney either. I guess it was just a support for a fireplace above. In that case, I find it curious that it’s not a solid support system and instead hollowed out like a fireplace. Why did they do that?

 

[bholler]

Thank you!
I cleared out the spiders and looked up inside… no hole. I couldn’t find any evidence of there ever being a chimney either. I guess it was just a support for a fireplace above. In that case, I find it curious that it’s not a solid support system and instead hollowed out like a fireplace. Why did they do that?

I honestly am not sure but I see them all the time. If that is what it was there would still be evidence of a chimney above