Stone Cottage and Smokehouse
Encyclopedia
44°22′40.07"N 73°13′46.21"W
Stone Cottage and The Smokehouse are two exhibit buildings at Shelburne Museum
in Shelburne, Vermont
.
, Stone Cottage originally functioned as home to a family of five, including two children and an elderly parent. In later years the building served first as a school and then as a blacksmith shop. Constructed of limestone
, the cottage’s stone exterior was laid in straight courses rather than in the more common scatterstone technique, creating lending the exterior walls an even, harmonious pattern.
purchased the cottage in 1947, only the exterior shell remained. When the Museum moved the structure to the grounds two years later, staff members numbered each stone individually before transporting the cottage piece by piece to reassemble it in its present location. By luck a direct descendant of the original occupants heard about the project. Her recollections of the interior enabled Museum staff to duplicate the original floor plan and furnishings, including the wrought-iron door latch that she had removed years before when the building began to slip into ruin. The restoration of the cottage made use of old beams and materials from local abandoned barns and homes. The furniture, textiles, and household goods exhibited in Stone Cottage evoke the simple lifestyle of agricultural workers in the mid-19th century.
Smokehouse
s, similar to the one behind Stone Cottage, which was built in Charlotte, Vermont
in 1820, were a staple of American farm life and remained in common use until the late 19th century. Typically small stone structures with dirt floors, smokehouses possessed a confined interior chamber that enabled farmers to easily preserve meat. As such, the major structural requirement of a smokehouse was that the building be airtight, although chimneys and small vents were sometimes installed to regulate the density of smoke. Traditionally, farmers would soak butchered cuts in brine
and then hang them in their smokehouse above a smoldering fire of corncobs and hickory wood, giving the meat its distinctive flavor. Meats remained in place for several days, or sometimes weeks, to complete the process.
Stone Cottage and The Smokehouse are two exhibit buildings at Shelburne Museum
Shelburne Museum
Shelburne Museum is a museum of art and Americana located in Shelburne, Vermont, United States. Over 150,000 works are exhibited in 39 exhibition buildings, 25 of which are historic and were relocated to the Museum grounds...
in Shelburne, Vermont
Shelburne, Vermont
Shelburne is a town in southwestern Chittenden County, Vermont, United States, along the shores of Lake Champlain. The population was 7,144 at the 2010 census.-History:...
.
Stone Cottage
Built about 1840 in South Burlington, VermontSouth Burlington, Vermont
-Economy:CommutAir, a regional airline, is headquartered in the city, by the airport. The Magic Hat Brewing Company, one of the United States's larger craft breweries, is located here.One measure of economic activity is retail sales...
, Stone Cottage originally functioned as home to a family of five, including two children and an elderly parent. In later years the building served first as a school and then as a blacksmith shop. Constructed of limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, the cottage’s stone exterior was laid in straight courses rather than in the more common scatterstone technique, creating lending the exterior walls an even, harmonious pattern.
Relocation
When the Shelburne MuseumShelburne Museum
Shelburne Museum is a museum of art and Americana located in Shelburne, Vermont, United States. Over 150,000 works are exhibited in 39 exhibition buildings, 25 of which are historic and were relocated to the Museum grounds...
purchased the cottage in 1947, only the exterior shell remained. When the Museum moved the structure to the grounds two years later, staff members numbered each stone individually before transporting the cottage piece by piece to reassemble it in its present location. By luck a direct descendant of the original occupants heard about the project. Her recollections of the interior enabled Museum staff to duplicate the original floor plan and furnishings, including the wrought-iron door latch that she had removed years before when the building began to slip into ruin. The restoration of the cottage made use of old beams and materials from local abandoned barns and homes. The furniture, textiles, and household goods exhibited in Stone Cottage evoke the simple lifestyle of agricultural workers in the mid-19th century.
The Smokehouse
44°22′39.83"N 73°13′47.03"WSmokehouse
Smokehouse
A smokehouse is a building where meat or fish is cured with smoke. The finished product might be stored in the building, sometimes for a year or more.-History:...
s, similar to the one behind Stone Cottage, which was built in Charlotte, Vermont
Charlotte, Vermont
Charlotte is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. The town was named for Sofia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, youngest daughter of Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.The population was 3,569 at the 2000 census....
in 1820, were a staple of American farm life and remained in common use until the late 19th century. Typically small stone structures with dirt floors, smokehouses possessed a confined interior chamber that enabled farmers to easily preserve meat. As such, the major structural requirement of a smokehouse was that the building be airtight, although chimneys and small vents were sometimes installed to regulate the density of smoke. Traditionally, farmers would soak butchered cuts in brine
Brine
Brine is water, saturated or nearly saturated with salt .Brine is used to preserve vegetables, fruit, fish, and meat, in a process known as brining . Brine is also commonly used to age Halloumi and Feta cheeses, or for pickling foodstuffs, as a means of preserving them...
and then hang them in their smokehouse above a smoldering fire of corncobs and hickory wood, giving the meat its distinctive flavor. Meats remained in place for several days, or sometimes weeks, to complete the process.