What Does an 1850s-60s Stove Look Like? Our Options So Far A Brief History of Stoves
Stoves became generally available in East Central Illinois in the 1850s. They had been around since the early 18th century, but the limiting factor in their widespread commercial availability was the difficulty and cost of transporting them. That changed in the early 1850s when the railroads came to Illinois. The Central Illinois Railroad brought stoves to Coles County and ads for stoves begin appearing in Charleston newspapers in 1851. The railroads also brought many other manufactured goods and the age of hand crafted gave way to the age of factory made.
The Five Mile House
provides a perfect setting for exploring the changes that took place between
the 1840s and the 1860s. The front two rooms of the house were built
in the 1840s and featured fireplaces on both the east and west ends.
Cooking was done over the open hearth, probably in the east room. In
the 1850s or 60s,
the house underwent a remodeling that added a rear kitchen room or "ell".
Although fireplaces generally continued to be built and used in the 1850s
and 60s, archaeology done at the site uncovered no evidence of a fireplace
in the ell, so it is assumed that a stove was used.
The fireplace in the west room was removed during the remodeling and was replaced by an 1850s-60s four over four window. The original fireplace, however, is still found in the east room and has been restored to its original appearance and function. It has been outfitted with a mantel, crane, the original andirons and other open hearth cooking implements. It has already been used for demonstrating open hearth cooking for school children and during an open house during summer months.
The 1850s-60s kitchen ell has been reconstructed including a chimney, but we need a period cook stove. So, we have begun the search for an appropriate stove. First we had to determine the type of stove that would be appropriate for the Five Mile House and now we are looking for sources on where to acquire one.
The Five Mile House affords the rare opportunity to demonstrate 1840s open hearth cooking and 1860s stove cooking in adjacent rooms. This can provide a tremendous educational opportunity for our visiting school children and visitors who come during our living history open houses.
WHAT DOES AN 1850s-60s COOK STOVE LOOK LIKE?
The best source of information on local cook stoves comes from the Charleston Courier newspaper. Stove ads first appear in 1851. The papers were searched through 1872. The style of stove seen in all the ads is a four-burner stove with the oven located underneath.
Ads from the Charleston Courier
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August 2, 1851 |
July 29, 1852 | August 25, 1853 |
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 The stove above is located at Mahaffie Stage Coach Stop and Farm in Olathe, KS and has a patent date of 1866. It is very similar to the ones pictured in the ads. It is used at Mahaffie in their living history program. |
| April 18, 1872 | February 17, 1858 | 1866 |
Our Options So Far
So far, we have located one stove for sale at the Bryant Stove Company in Maine. It is a Stewart Large Oven stove with a Patent date of 1859. This stove is for sale for $2,200 (plus shipping) which would include restoration by Bryant. The front doors on this stove run the whole height of the stove, however, which is different than the stoves pictured in the ads, but it is worth considering.
