INSIDE A SETTLER'S HOME

THE IRON STOVE

Prairie winters were long and very cold. Alot of wood was needed to for the fireplace and to keep a home warm. There were not many trees so settlers had to search for trees near the rivers and sloughs (ponds). Stoves became more popular than the fireplace because less wood was used to heat up a room.

stove

The first stoves were small and made of cast iron. Stoves were used for cooking and for heating. The stoves were rectangular in shape and stood on four legs. There were stoves with two burners on the top and an oven. Some stoves even had a water tank called a "reservoir".

Wood or coal was used as fuel for the stove. If wood or coal was hard to find, then twisted straw and corn stalks were burned. A pipe carried the smoke out of the house. The children had to keep the wood box full and fill the reservoir with water. In the winter snow was melted and the water was used for washing clothes and for baths.

The stove quickly filled with ashes and required cleaning. A metal bucket for ashes was kept near the stove.


a potbelly stove was used
to heat a room




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| Survival - food & clothing | School, general store, blacksmith |
| Inside a settler's home | Transportation | Fun & games | Pioneer communities |
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web page by J. Giannetta
2004
updated 2011

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