Springhouse

The Springhouse is located just down slope from the log house. It would have provided a relatively cool place for food storage in the days before refrigeration.

Its upper floor provided a cooler place to perform summertime chores, such as laundry, or preparing food for preserving (usually canning).

The lower part is somewhat open and spans a simulated flowing stream ("run") whose water seems to comes from a spring. Ground water (from either a spring or well) has a year-round temperature of 52-54 degrees, so it could keep milk and butter a little longer from spoiling during the summer heat.

Three water sources are shown here: outdoors is a dug well, surrounded by a stone wall, using a crank-powered winch to draw the bucket up from the underground water supply. There is also a "pitcher pump" that would draw water up a pipe from a drilled well. Finally there is the spring "run" itself, the flow simulated here by a recirculating pump.