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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 springhouse was moved from Jim Caldwell's farm in Cataloochee, North Carolina. For a farm to be successful it needed to be located near a source of water. In the mountains that typically ended up being a spring. A springhouse was built around the spring to facilitate getting fresh water. Additionally the cool running water acted as a type of refrigerator for perishable foods.

Springhouse located on Jim Caldwell's farm

Wood, Leaf, Monochrome photography, Monochrome

Springhouse located on Jim Caldwell's farm

Wood, Plant community, Monochrome, Monochrome photography

Springhouse located on Jim Caldwell's farm

Wood, Grass, Land lot, Monochrome

Present-day Springhouse

Wood, Branch, Property, Landscape

This springhouse was moved from the farm of Jim Caldwell in Cataloochee, North Carolina. Besides food, drinking water was one of the most important aspects of living on a mountain farm. When a family was searching for the right place to make their farm, a reliable spring was on the top of the list of requirements. Without one, there was no reason to build a farm in that area. Besides offering necessary drinking water, a springhouse was important to ensure that perishable food did not spoil. When water flowed from the spring up through the springhouse it moved along a stone-lined or wooden channel. Farmers placed containers of perishable foods inside of these channels so that the cold spring water ran over them, effectively refrigerating them. Besides perishable food, other foods were kept in the springhouse so that they remained cool, especially in the summer months. Besides being a makeshift refrigerator, storing food inside the building ensured that animals, both wild and domestic, did not eat the food that was essential to the survival of the family.

Tom Robbins, Mountain Farm Museum (Gatlinburg: Great Smoky Mountains Association), 11.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Oconaluftee Farmstead, Open Parks Network. http://purl.clemson.edu/9967BED2185332A0E1555F2B5EC79D8F.

Ocaonaluftee Farmstead, Open Parks Network. http://purl.clemson.edu/98D9F1A72C2A26744CEF0EFD0D3F99F7

Oconaluftee Farmstead, Open Parks Network. http://purl.clemson.edu/25B7689EAE7832DB6652FA6519E6FAF3

Sydney Johnson Photography