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Outbuildings
from Morgan County Interim Report (1993): xxi-xxiii
Historically, the operations of a farm were
supported by several types of ancillary structures that were generally
smaller than the house and barn and usually devoted to one specific
function. The buildings described below represent outbuildings that appear
with great frequency throughout Morgan County. They indicate how diversified
the historic farmstead was.
Corncrib in Clay Township
Corncribs, built for the dry storage
of corn, are among the most common of outbuildings. These evolved from split
log structures that were probably of German origin. The most frequently seen
type of corncrib has either vertical or horizontal slats.
Less frequently seen today than corncribs,
granaries store relatively small amounts of grain. Granaries are
rectangular, windowless, and usually elevated on piers of wood, stone, or
cement block to keep grain free from moisture and rodents.
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Silo in Jackson Township
Designed to preserve green fodder, silos are a relatively
recent agricultural development. Widespread interest in silos among American
farmers can be traced to 1875 when the American Agriculturalist, a
major disseminator of agricultural information, published reports on
ensilage experiments that aroused interest among dairy farmers. Conservative
objections that labeled the silo a "faddism" persisted into this century,
but the objections diminished after state agricultural experiment stations
began work to perfect the silo. Silos evolved from pit silos to the modern
Harvestore, distinguished by its dark blue color, which was introduced in
1945.
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Chicken house on the
Gallamore-Vickery farm in Ray Township
Buildings for housing animals
are also important elements of the historic farmstead. Perhaps one of the
most telling indicators of the shift from the diversified farm to one
devoted to two or three products is the presence of numerous chicken and brooder houses, which are no longer used for
their original purpose. Chicken houses tend to be low; rectangular-plan
buildings with shed or saltbox-type roofs. Windows were usually placed along
the south-facing facade to provide light and heat during cold seasons. The
longer slope of the roof faced north.
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Smokehouse in Brown
Township
Springhouse in Monroe Township
The historic
farmstead contained a variety of other ancillary buildings used in the
preparation and storage of food for human consumption. Smokehouses
for curing meat, milk houses to keep dairy products cool, and
insulated warm houses for the storage of canned goods year round are
found on numerous farms in Morgan County. Spring houses sheltered
natural springs and provided a cool storage area for milk and other dairy
products. These basic structures were usually rectangular in plan and could
be of frame, brick or concrete block construction.
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Summer kitchen in Farm, Monroe Township
Many farmsteads retain summer kitchens that removed unwanted heat,
odors and fire risks from the main house. These buildings could either be
free-standing or attached to the rear of the house by a covered breezeway.
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Privy
on Reuben Aldrich, Sr., farm in Harrison Township
Another
building, the privy, was perhaps the humblest of buildings on the
farmstead yet certainly not the least necessary. Ubiquitous until quite
recently, privies, like many of the outbuildings associated with the
historic farmstead, are increasingly scarce.
Windmills,
once essential to the farm's water supply, are now rapidly vanishing from
the rural landscape. The American windmill, derived from European
wind-driven gristmills, was adapted as a water-lifting mechanism in
Connecticut in the middle of the nineteenth century. The windmill gained a
quick and widespread popularity among American farmers, especially those
with large amounts of livestock. Electric water pumps were primarily
responsible for the decline in windmill use.
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