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Wayne County Root Cellars

Wayne County Root CellarsAs we travel around Wayne County, occasionally we see a root cellar built into a side hill. We have spotted one in Sterling Township, one near Lake Cadjaw, and another while riding the Stourbridge Line excursion from Honesdale to Hawley. The early settlers in Wayne County, as well as throughout the country, preserved fruits and vegetables which were grown in their gardens in order to have enough to tide them over until the following growing season. Canning was one way of preserving, but root vegetables and apples were stored in root cellars. Some root cellars were built into side hills. Most were made either adjacent to a home's basement or in a section of the basement that had an earthen floor and was best suited for storing potatoes, cabbage, carrots, squash, pumpkins, onions, beets and apples. The vegetables were either packed in well-drained sand (root side up) or stored on shelves. Apples and potatoes were stored in separate bins. The area was kept dark, with little humidity, at 35 to 40 degrees. Country homes at that time were built on stone foundations. They had no central heating system, and the rooms were heated with stoves or fireplaces. This meant there was little heat in the basements, ideal conditions to keep root vegetables and apples over the winter. Wayne County farmers used root cellars exclusively in preserving their apples and root vegetables until the 1930's when electricity came to the rural areas. Electricity also introduced the freezer, which became another way of preservation, but did not include all root vegetables. With furnaces and concrete floors in basements, gardeners were forced to make root cellars in other suitable areas, either in extensions of basements or in nearby side hills.

This page was one month of the calendar and was made possible through the Wayne County Commissioners and a Tourism Promotion Committee’s Tourism Grant.

 

 

 

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D & H Canal Park at Lock 31
The D&H Canal Park at Lock 31 has 16 beautiful acres to explore. The site features the historic…
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The Wayne County Historical Society may give recognition on an annual basis to individuals,…
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Movin' Energy
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Bethel School Open House July 10, 2022
Jul 10, 2022, 1:00 PM
All Bethel School Open Houses are from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m on Sunday, July 10, 2022. Special programs…
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Bethel School Open House August 14, 2022
Aug 14, 2022, 1:00 PM
All Bethel School Open Houses are from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m on Sunday August 14, 2022. Special programs…
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Cars Cruising at the Canal
Sep 10, 2022, 1:00 PM
Cars Cruising at the Canal will be held on September 10, 2022 at 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM at the Historic…

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Welcome to the Wayne County Historical Society, home of the full-size replica of the Stourbridge Lion, the first locomotive to run on commercial track in the United States.

Our main museum and museum shop are housed in a building built in 1860 as headquarters of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company....click here for more information.

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