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This is a contributing entry for Oconaluftee Mountain Farm Museum and only appears as part of that tour.Learn More.
This apple house was originally located on Will Messer's farm in Little Cataloochee, North Carolina. An apple house enabled farmers to store large quantities of apples before being sent to the market. This particular apple house was originally built into the hillside so that the bottom half was covered with earth, insulating it from temperature fluctuations and preserving the apples.

Re-Located Apple House

Landscape, Monochrome photography, Monochrome, Land lot

Back of the apple house located on Will Messer's farm

Wood, Leaf, Landscape, Monochrome

Side view of the disrepair of the apple house on Will Messer's farm

Wood, Monochrome, Monochrome photography, Rural area

Front view of the apple house on Will Messer's farm

Wood, Branch, Monochrome, Photograph

Present-Day Apple House

Wood, Grass, Property, Landscape

Another type of food that many mountain families ate was fruit, and more specifically apples which were stored in apple houses. This specific structure was originally located on the farm of Will Messer in Little Cataloochee, North Carolina. Due to the cooler climate in the mountain region, apple trees grew very abundantly, and most families had a few trees on their land. Apples had a multitude of purposes, from being eaten raw, to making cider, vinegar, sauce, butter, and pies. There was no shortage in ways to take apples and turn them into something the whole family enjoyed. If the apples were picked in time and stored properly, they lasted throughout the winter and provided the family with fresh fruit for months. Often in an attempt to preserve apples better, a family sliced them and then dried them. Another way to preserve apples was by sulfuring them. This was a process where the slices of fruit were exposed to sulfur smoke which killed any bacteria that was on the apples. Both dried and sulfured apples were used throughout the winter when there was a lack of fresh fruit. They were both used in cakes and pies to create delicacies that were enjoyed no matter the season. 

The original location of this structure was built into the side of a hill. This enabled the lower stone portion to be underground which acted as a type of insulation from the heat of the summer and the cold of the winter. This sort of building was not usually common on a farmstead unless the farm had a large orchard that produced a large number of apples. As the apples were picked, they were stored in the apple house until they were moved to the market to be sold

Tom Robbins, Mountain Farm Museum (Gatlinburg: Smoky Mountain Association), 7-8.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Stites, James A. Apple house with stone bottom and wooden top and two doors, Oconaluftee Farmstead, North Carolina, 1959, Accessed December 13th 2020. http://purl.clemson.edu/22AEDCBF47C2FAFBDBFD04AEC47594BB.

Oconaluftee Farmstead, Open Parks Network. http://purl.clemson.edu/9098B8BFD4D407D1E07BA5E505970581.

Oconaluftee Farmstead, Open Parks Network. http://purl.clemson.edu/313D27FC0291C702601102AD9B0817E5

Oconaluftee Farmstead, Open Parks Network. http://purl.clemson.edu/F7708F70EA11E23C89DB297BD96D8E20

Sydney Johnson Photography