About Springhouse (Mountain Farm Museum)
Before electricity there was cold water, and a farm that had a spring used it. The springhouse sat over the water and kept food cool through the summer.
How it worked
A springhouse is built over or beside a spring so that cold water runs through a trough inside. Crocks of milk, butter and eggs sat in the trough, and the stream carried off the warmth. The walls were thick, the roof overhung and the floor was often stone, and the water ran through the building day and night. Butter and cheese made on the farm went into the springhouse, and so did melons and vegetables in the heat of summer.
At the museum
The Springhouse is one of the outbuildings at the Mountain Farm Museum next to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. A spring runs through the site, and the building sits near the main house, as one would on a real farm. Walk around it and notice the small door, the low profile and the wet ground. The museum's numbered posts and booklet explain the building's origin.
Visiting
- Where: the Mountain Farm Museum, 1194 Newfound Gap Road, Cherokee, on the North Carolina side.
- Access: viewed from outside; the grounds are free and open in daylight.
- Time to allow: 45 minutes for the farm.
- Parking: the visitor center lot; a parking tag is required for stops over 15 minutes.
- Nearby: elk graze the meadow at dawn and dusk. Mingus Mill is closed until further notice.
Context
Compare it with the meat house and smokehouse. Each preserved a different part of the farm's food. The Elijah Oliver Place in Cades Cove has a springhouse of its own that you reach on a short walk. See the NPS Oconaluftee page for current information.
Good to know
- Do I need a parking tag?
- A Park It Forward parking tag ($5 a day, $15 a week or $40 a year) is required for any vehicle parked more than 15 minutes inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Entry is free, and federal passes such as America the Beautiful do not replace the tag.
