Springhouse
The springhouse was a key site for dairy work. It was constructed of masonry or frame over a spring or over a running stream, and it was often banked. Springhouses could be a single story, but often had a second story that served for storage, dairy processing, or sometimes even residential quarters. The point of the springhouse was to provide a cool space and fresh water. Stone-lined channels or tanks were carefully engineered to take full advantage of running or spring water. These would enable the dairy-women to cool milk and other perishable food items. Shelves were arranged so that milk pans could be set on them, and cream could rise. Churning, salting, working of butter could also take place in or near the springhouse. Their location is often given away by willow trees. There would be more springhouses in areas where per-farm butter production was higher.
Spring house, Wolf Township, Lycoming County, c. 1850.
Spring house, Huntington Township, Adams County, c. 1875.
(Site 001-HU-001)
Spring house, Heidelberg, Lehigh County, c. 1850 with 20th century repairs.
(Site 077-HE-004)
Note
This is a static, archived version of the PHMC Pennsylvania Agricultural History Project website which will not be updated. It is a snapshot of the website with minor modifications as it appeared on August 26, 2015.
Pages in this Section
- Overview
- House Types
- Barn Types
- Barn Features
- Outbuilding Types
- Overview
- Bake Oven
- Butcher House
- Carriage House
- Cider House
- Combination Structure
- Cook House
- Corn Crib
- Dryhouse
- Fruit Cold Storage
- Garage
- Grain Bin
- Granary
- Greenhouse
- Hay Drying Shed
- Hog House
- Horse Barn
- Ice House
- Machine Shed
- Maple Sugar House
- Milk House
- Packing House
- Potato Storage Cellar
- Poultry Housing
- Privy
- Roadside Stand
- Root Cellar
- Scale House
- Shed
- Silo
- Smokehouse
- Spray Shed
- Springhouse
- Summer Kitchen
- Wagon Shed
- Wash House
- Wood Shed
- Worker Housing
- Workshop
- Landscape Elements
- Archaeological Features