History and description of the former kitchen areas of the Spring Hill Ranch House at Tallgrass Prairie NPres

Historic Spring Hill Ranch House Former Kitchen Areas

The former kitchen areas of the ranch house, separated from the parlors by a short set of stairs and doorway, illustrate the changes that have taken place inside the ranch house more than any other space. Later residents would transform the space by dividing it and creating the present-day utility room and bathroom

The Joneses prepared their food downstairs in the kitchen and then carried it up a short staircase and by dumbwaiter to a butler's pantry, where the food was put onto plates and served in the dining room. Later residents would modify the butler's pantry into a modern kitchen and remove the dumbwaiter.

The root cellar stored preserved fruit, vegetables and homemade foodstuffs for the Joneses in a cool, dry environment and doubled as a storm shelter. Stephen's wife, Louisa, insisted on a storm shelter she could get to quickly since she had a great fear of tornadoes and the damage they could cause.

Down the tunnel is the spring room, where the Jonses stored perishable food. Cool spring water was piped into the house from the cistern atop the hill west of the ranch house, where it was used in the kitchen, as well as diverted into this room, continually filling a shallow trough. Glass and ceramic containers of milk, cheese, and other perishable foods were immersed in this cold, spring water, helping to preserve them for longer periods. Cool air trapped in the spring room help keep foods from spoiling.

The water followed a channel around to the other side of the spring room and was piped into yet another cistern, located underground east of the spring room. From there the water was used to power a small fountain in front of the house and to irrigate gardens, an orchard, and a vineyard in the bottomland east of the ranch house.