Let’s see if WordPress is in a more photo-receptive mood today.
Success! Or at least a step further than it got on Wednesday! So here is the photo that wouldn’t work before: the plaster-on-brick trough that runs along the north wall of the Dairy House. (The foot-powered grindstone, ca. 1900, was donated by Jean Fisher.) The ladder at left was probably installed by the Davises (though perhaps replacing an older one) and leads up to the second floor.
The 1952 photo I used on Wednesday is nice, but here’s a modern view. The elements have been unkind to our windows and doors; guys from the City of Rockville, which owns the property, are working on new ones (don’t worry, sticklers; the wood and hardware being replaced date from the 1940s/1980s, not 1815). So here’s another shout-out to the City, and to our fantastic interns (below), for helping us keep the Dairy House in top form!
July 13, 2012 at 9:07 am
[...] The typical dairy house is built partly underground, the better to keep things cold. (Here’s an example from another Dawson house, from the HABS photo collection.) It would be more accurate to call our building a “spring house,” but somehow “dairy” stuck. The first floor is on ground level; there’s a plaster-on-brick trough built along the back (north) wall, through which our parking-lot-puddle-creating underground spring was fed thanks to a now-vanished windmill. The flowing spring water helped keep perishable items cool. Today, the spring stays underground and we avoid putting anything perishable in here. This photo shows a foot-powered grindstone (donated by Jean Fisher) standing in the old water trough. (I hope a photo appears here. WordPress is objecting to all versions of this image, I’m not sure why.) [click here to see it.] [...]
August 8, 2012 at 10:19 am
[...] the past few months. Less ‘exciting’ activities included stocking the shop, scanning photos, cleaning out the Dairy House, labeling newsletters, washing coolers, and dressing a mannequin in a 19th century gown (well, [...]