Honors 680 - Final Term Paper

For the final project in Honors 680 we were assigned a paper about something relating to the home or the home life. One suggestion was to write about a particular room of the house: the reduction in formality of the living and dining room or the garage, but I decided to write about how the kitchen has changed over the 300 or so years since the settlement of this country.

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The kitchen is and has been one of the most important rooms in a house. Originally solely a place of labor, cut off from the rest of the house, it has evolved into a sophisticated place of leisure, deeply integrated into the house and family life. The early colonial kitchens were built with basic features and mimicked the British kitchens. The British kitchens themselves remained little changed since the Middle Ages, with some features, such as the hearth with an iron hook, taken from the Romans. It was America that pioneered the modernization of the kitchen, thanks in part to the Industrial Revolution, the electrification of cities, the automobile and the invention of the suburban home. The kitchen today is drastically different from the Colonial period, changing much more rapidly over the last 300 years than it did over the previous 1,500. How has the use of the kitchen changed throughout the last 300 years in reaction to technological changes and social trends transforming it from a separate building or back room that is hidden to a prominent place where most daily activities revolve around?

The Colonial Kitchen

1700 to 1840

Early kitchens in the north eastern colonies were nothing more than an area in the one room houses where the cooking took place. The standard construction method in the early colonial period in the north was to construct a heavy hearth in the middle of the house, with stick-built walls surrounding it. The walls and floors were un-insulated, so the hearth was kept continuously hot in winter. The central hearth was the only source of heat in the entire house. Because of the need to conserve heat, the houses were sometimes built without windows, and if they had windows were only a few. Glass not only insulated poorly, but was also very expensive. Windows were usually holes in the wall with heavy shutters that could be closed tightly in the winter. The second floor, or loft space, was used for sleeping by the entire family. Rarely did people have actual beds, so they slept on straw mats. The loft was reasonably comfortable in the winter since the mats were near the chimney for the hearth, where all of the heat would rise from the ground floor. However, for much of the year the kitchen area of the house was not very comfortable because it was freezing cold in the winter and unbearably hot by the fire in summer. Sometimes if the family was slightly wealthier, the parents would have their own room on the ground floor with a bed. (Plante, 3)

The ground floor was devoted to work. Without walls to divide up the room, there were areas sanctioned off for specific jobs. The cooking was set up around the hearth, with storage for cooking utensils on pegs on the wall, and barrels and containers for keeping food such as carrots and potatoes. Also in the room was a spinning wheel and all of the tools needed for making clothing, and the washboard and tub for doing laundry. Meat and other foods that were curing were hung from the ceiling. (Plante, 4)

The Colonial houses were very simplistic. The houses were built with local materials, often by the family members themselves. Furniture was also crude wooden benches and tables, with the occasional pillow or cushion. Family heirlooms were kept in a chest and the valued pewter tableware was kept in a cupboard. (Plante, 4).

Southern houses took on a different look from the ones in the North. Modest, single room houses had much of the same construction, but many times the kitchen was an exterior building connected to the rear of the house by a breezeway. This was so the heat from the fire could be kept away from the building in the stifling summer months. The main house still had a central fireplace, but it was used for light cooking and heat in the winter months. (Plante, 4)

But it was the plantation mansion that really defined the south. With slaves to do the manual labor, wealth was created from nothing so people had money to spend on houses. The plantation house was much more elaborate, usually a full two stories full of windows with interior walls dividing up bedrooms on the second floor and living space on the lower. The kitchen was an exterior building staffed with slaves, with a back door to the dining room for serving. (Conran, 16)

After the American Revolution in the latter 18 th century, people were more willing to put down roots and began to think of themselves as natives instead of colonists. This longevity was reflected in their housing construction. Homes became larger and better-built. As families prospered more money became available to construct better houses. These new homes were built to last instead of being merely cabins. The ground floor was enlarged into two rooms: the kitchen in the rear and a parlor in the front. The parlor replaced the kitchen as the family gathering space. The socializing, teaching, sewing and other chores were done in the parlor. The food preparation and storage was still done in the kitchen and served in the same location. It was shortly thereafter that dining rooms became popular as well as the ground floor bedroom for parents, or the "master" bedroom. (Plante, 7).

Other innovative techniques developed around the time of the American Revolution included partially burying the kitchen and creating a separate space to keep foods, called a pantry. With the kitchen located in an exposed basement it took advantage of the thermal mass of the earth to cool the kitchen in the summer and warm it in the winter. This also served to divide the house further from the kitchen to keep the unpleasant cooking odors out of the rest of the house. The other new addition was, "[the] pantry [which] was incorporated into the kitchen during the late 1700s for storage, and to guard against the theft of costly staples and spice it was often outfitted with a lock (Plante, 4)."

The heart of the kitchen, the hearth (both come from the same root word) was changing. In addition to the fire pit a bake oven was also present. Boiling pots were placed in the main fireplace, while bread and other baked goods were put in the bake oven, which had its own heat source and was often in the shape of a beehive. The hooks that held the kettles were now constructed with a pivot point instead of set into the wall so that it could be swung out from the fire more safely. (Plante, 8)

As time progressed people became better at preserving food. Techniques such as cooling and smoking were used more universally. As an auxiliary part of the kitchen, larger farms often had a smokehouse. Since refrigeration was not common, or practical, the most effective way of preserving meat was to smoke it. For smaller houses, a portion of the chimney was built to hold meat for smoking. For constant cooling, root cellars quickly became commonplace in colonial homes. Originally they were located in a nearby hill and were used to keep roots, fruits and vegetables cool. These primitive holes were developed more and placed under the house or in a separate area from the basement kitchen. In the north, near rivers and lakes, icehouses were constructed. Northern dairy farmers often used these for icehouses chilling milk, but in the south where ice was not present they used wells and springs to draw cool water from the earth as a form or refrigeration. (Plante, 9)

As the 18 th century drew to a close, new changes such as sinks, windows and cupboards were introduced into the kitchen. The changes during the 1700s were slow but very significant, growing from primitive single-room cabins to specialized rooms and areas for storage, cooking, and eating.

The hearth became the gathering place for the family. It was the only source of heat and light in the drafty, windowless houses, so it was a natural hub of activity. In the evening the meal that was cooked in the fireplace was served directly to the table located nearby. After the sun set, it was the best source of light compared to small candles. The family members would sit doing chores by the light and warmth of the fire until they retired. (Plante, 4)

In the Colonial times there were few reasons for people to leave their homes. The colonies were so agriculturally based that all of the daily activities involved working around the farm, with the occasional trip to buy something. There were no clubs or groups for people to be a part of, besides the church. It was religion that gave people interaction outside of their family and neighbors. (Plante, 3)

It is this need to be close to home that people rarely traveled more than a few miles from where they were born. Farmsteads were passed though families to the oldest son, daughters were married off, and younger male offspring went westward to find more land.

Early Victorian Kitchens

1840 to 1870

The Victorian age ushered in a new form of house design which greatly affected the kitchen. Single family homes were mostly constructed using the balloon framing technique, where the exterior walls are unbroken from the foundation to the roof. The kitchen was usually added as single-story wing off of the back. The fireplace faced the main part of the house, so that the heating fireplaces in the other rooms could be put into the same chimney stack. "In the warmer climates of the southern states a separate kitchen or cookhouse building remained popular to avoid the threat of fire to the main building and to contain heat in the hot summer months (Plante, 37)."

The changes that came about in the Victorian period were the innovations in cooking surfaces. While at first people were skeptical of cast iron ovens, they were in just about every home, especially new construction, by 1850. The urban kitchens usually had coal burning stoves because the fuel could be delivered house to house by way of coal chutes built into the outside walls that arrived in the kitchen. In the rural areas the ovens continued to rely on wood chopped from the farm or from nearby as the primary source of fuel. (Plante, 37)

It became fashionable in the Victorian period to paint the walls. The kitchen, even the fireplaces, was paneled in wood and painted light beige, mustard, earth, and other natural colors. Flooring, which was either brick or wood, was no longer left in its natural state. It was common to cover the floor with oil cloth, which was easier to clean and did not absorb the cooking odors like wood did. Brick often got cold, especially in the northern winter, so bits of carpet and rug were placed in the high traffic areas to add to comfort. The entire floor was not covered because they had to be taken outside to be cleaned and having very flammable floor coverings was a fire risk. (Plante, 40)

Light was considered to be important, so the kitchen and other exterior walls were constructed with many windows. This created places where cold air could leak in, but each room had its own fireplace built into the central chimney stack so that heat was not much of an issue. (Plante, 40)

Indoor plumbing was beginning to be applied during the early Victorian era. Water was pumped from wells and brought into the house and held in a cistern by wind power. The kitchen sink became standard. (Plante, 41)

The Industrial Revolution ushered in a new age in the kitchen. Mass production allowed for a greater variety of products to be for sale. The development of the railroad system created a fast and efficient system for moving around these products. Town centers grew as commerce was more practical. Foods, especially non-perishables could also be moved creating a greater variety of food at local markets. The Industrial Revolution also spurred the development of gadgets. With inventors eager to invent, the kitchen was an obvious place to start. Tools such as egg beaters, apple peelers, cherry stoners, nut crackers and similar were introduced at a rapid rate to make cooking more efficient, more like and assembly line that was the basis for the Industrial Revolution itself. Every conceivable task in the kitchen was made easier by a new invention. However, not every single invention was good. Some did not work, were poorly manufactured, or utterly unnecessary, so there were several kitchen manuals published guiding which gadgets were worth their price. (Plante, 69-71)

The Early Victorian regard of the kitchen changed little from the colonial period. It was still a place of work, but it became more specialized. No longer was it a single room that contained many different activities; these were divided into specific areas and buildings. The smokehouse, icehouse, and root cellar moved the food storage out of the kitchen. The pantry and cupboards were tools to organize and store the new utensils, gadgets, and tableware that was easier to acquire thanks to the Industrial Revolution. Eating took place in the dining room, which was usually built in houses. Socialization within the family and the entertainment of guests took place in the parlor or sitting room. Multiple fireplaces for heat allowed for more even comfort for the entire house and opened up the walls to light and air. As stoves replaced fireplaces making the entire cooking process faster. However, to compensate for the easier job of cooking, the family demanded more elaborate meals, so the mother did not spend any less time cooking, but she was able to create more and a wider variety of foods. (Plante, 40-45).

Dinner parties or other gatherings where food was served came into style for those families that could afford it. However, the kitchen was a place of work and not for socialization. Women hosts were not usually a part of the pre-dinner conversation in the parlor and only emerged when it was time to serve the elaborately prepared dinner. (Plante, 37)

For those families who could afford to keep a servant, their primary job was to assist in the kitchen. The mistress became the boss, doing the lighter tasks such as baking and other preparatory measures. It was the servant who was given the harder tasks like laundry. Servants in the north were usually girls from poorer families who worked to support their families. Most middle class families had a servant that was shared with several other families, where each family got a particular day of the week or period of each day. For wealthier families, they had a private servant who was given a room off of the kitchen to sleep in. After the Civil War, the South was scrambling to find cheap labor since slavery was no longer legal. Because of the labor shortage, many women from the plantations had to resume domestic duties or find money to pay for servants. (Plante, 50-54)

Late and Post Victorian Kitchens

1870 to 1920

By the 1870s the industrial revolution was rapidly changing the kitchen design. Unlike the early Victorian, where the gadgets and appliances worked with the existing design, the late Victorian home was built around these innovations. An important change was the fuel of choice used in homes. Gas was available to many people in urban areas to fuel their stove and lights. This replaced the wood- or coal-burning stoves and fireplaces. The advantage of gas was that it was cleaner burning than oil, produced no odors, and had no ashes to clean up. It was also many cooks' belief that it cooked food more evenly than other forms of fuel, and could be kept at an even temperature based on how open the gas valve was. Houses were still built with fireplaces; however, they were much smaller and did not include the large hearth space in the kitchen. Another significant change was the introduction of indoor plumbing. The kitchen sink, which was previously made of wood or soapstone, were mostly enameled cast iron, like bathtubs. These sinks were often divided into two parts to aid in dishwashing. Hot water was produced in a tank next to the stove. (Plante, 85)

The basement kitchen was considered undesirable around this time. Kitchens were almost always built at the rear of the house connected to the back hall. The back hall was originally designed as a way to isolate the owners and servants from each other by providing different entrances, however, with the end of the Civil War and the end of slavery, cheap or free labor was hard to come by. However, with the wave of immigrants from Europe many immigrant women worked as servants so some homes were still able to afford them. For those households who couldn't afford their own personal servant, several homes would share one on different days of the week. Another change to the floor plan was a small butler's pantry or waiter's closet between the kitchen and dining room. This acted as a staging area for meals and was a place with cabinets where the family's china and pewter dishes could be kept and displayed. (Plante, 88)

As urban areas built up space became a premium so houses were built vertically instead of horizontally. Most townhouses or row houses had a hall that ran from front to back with the parlor in front, dining room in the middle and kitchen in the rear with a stair to bedrooms on the second and sometimes third floor. (Plante, 88)

Refrigeration was available to many people as early as 1860, but it was not until the late 1800s that many took advantage of it. The icebox was a wooden and metal box with a space on the bottom for the block of ice and shelves to keep perishables on. Even people in the South were able to take advantage of refrigeration because the ice could be shipped by rail and stored locally. However, it was more expensive than those in the north where ice was present for part of the year. (Plante, 89)

Many publications were produced regarding kitchen design. One of the most popular was the Ladie's Home Journal which once included a plan for a $2000 dollar house that had ten rooms. The kitchen design was described as:

Back of the Reception-Room is placed the dining room, to which access is had form the kitchen through the butler's pantry, which, being properly arranged, is the delight of the housekeeper. So large is this pantry that it is possible to have the mixing-board, flour-bins, etc., placed in one end near the window, so that good light is insured for the work which must be done there. The kitchen also has the recommendation of size, especially so as the room is made more available by places having been provided for the necessary furniture. There is a space in the entry for the refrigerator, so that the ice man, by his muddy boots, need not soil the kitchen floor each morning, as he will have no occasion to enter. Under the refrigerator is provided a drain to carry off the drips, this according a constant overflowing ice pan. The kitchen, it will be noticed, is in every way separated from the main part of the house by two doors, and not only that, but though the servants' hall, access to the front door may be had by the servant without passing through any of the other apartments. The servants also go directly to their rooms by the back stairway without at anytime entering the main part of the house. (Plante, 94)

It was the lack of servants that forced many wives to assume more of the household duties, so it became important for the design of the kitchen to be as efficient as possible. (Plante, 91)

Floors of the kitchen up until the late Victorian were wood or tile. Wood floors were hard to clean and had to be covered with an oil-cloth or other material to prevent fire and the absorption of cooking odors. Tile floors were easier to clean and were not absorbent, but were much more expensive and unforgiving to feet. The solution came around in the 1870s when linoleum floors were available. The cost was low and they were easily installed on top of existing wood floors. The linoleum was often printed with patterns that mimicked, among other things, the wood floor that it replaced. (Plante, 94)

Canned and packaged food became available which contributed to the shift from a factory-like kitchen to a laboratory-like kitchen where foods were prepared to specific instructions without much preparation of ingredients. (Plante, 98)

In the quest for efficiency, many people found that the pantry caused too much unnecessary walking, so the pantry was brought into the kitchen in the form of a Hoosier Cabinet. A Hoosier Cabinet was basically a vertical cabinet with large doors that would open up to many smaller compartments and a work surface, with drawers and more doors under the work surface. This allowed the homemaker to keep all of the ingredients, utensils and pots for cooking and baking in one place. The Hoosier was placed in the kitchen and became such a popular alternative to the pantry that many houses were built without a pantry and with a niché or space against a wall for the Hoosier. (Plante, 211)

Significant changes to the kitchen occurred again around 1900 when electricity became available to the urban homeowner. The existence of electricity was known for hundreds of years; however, no system for large-scale generation and distribution was in place until the beginning of the 20 th century. The American kitchen responded to the availability of electricity with enthusiasm. The first products to be produced included irons, coffee makers, toasters, mixers, waffle irons and sewing machines (in addition to lighting).

The Late and Post Victorian kitchens began to take on the qualities that are still present today. Efficiency and convenience were big factors taken in to consideration with design. The pantry evolved in the Early Victorian and devolved in the Late where the foodstuffs were moved back into the kitchen in the Hoosier Cabinet. With the extreme shortage of workers, the women of the house had to assume all responsibilities, which led them to ideas about improving the kitchen to make their lives easier. Improvements in cooking technology made gas stoves the fuel of choice for all new construction because of how cleanly it burned. As the kitchen was moved out of the basement it became less of a hot, smelly dungeon and more like a parlor with a sink and stove. Instead of dark colors and wooden floors, the natural color of wood was left and the walls were usually white or some other light color. Located at the back of the house, the kitchen usually had a window or two above the sink so that natural light could be let in. Linoleum floors made the floors easier to clean and softer to walk on. All of these improvements made the kitchen a much more tolerable place to be in.

However, as tolerable as it is, it was still not a place for people to interact socially. The kitchen was still the woman's domain, as men rarely set foot in it. Entertainment of guests still took place in the parlor and would move into the dining room for dinner. In fact, when in the dining room the guests cannot usually see the kitchen because of the waiter's pantry in between.

Indoor plumbing and electricity made it possible to do more work in the kitchen and spend less time on trips to get water or time to heat it up. While the number of gadgets in the kitchen increased, it was not as much of a competition between people to have the latest and most innovate tool as it was today. Instead of the "keeping up with the Jones'" tactic, advertisements targeted, or guilted, the women into buying products. For an advertisement for a gas stove, the left panel shows a woman exhausted by the heat of her coal stove, while the right one shows here playing carefree with her children while dinner cooked on the stove. Others claimed that by buying their product, women would work less and stay younger longer. The ever increasing competition between companies from the Industrial Revolution onward was responsible for bringing new products to homes at a faster rate than ever thought possible.

One important consideration, though, is that while the urban kitchen was undergoing many changes, the rural kitchen remained as it was in the late Colonial period. Without access to the electrical grid or to plumbing, or near railroads for the shipping of the new products, they remained as they were until the invention of the automobile for easier transportation of products.

The Modern Kitchen

1920 to 1940

The modern age ushered in perhaps the most significant changes two the kitchen over the shortest period. As the men were sent off to fight in World War II, the women were left to care for the home and earn a living. When the war was over, many women continued to work. With the slow mornings a thing of the past, breakfast had to be served quickly. To aid this, a breakfast nook, or kitchen table was incorporated into the design. It was this that allowed the family to be together in the mornings, and dinner was still served in the dining room in the evening. (Plante, 225)

The icebox was replaced by the electric refrigerator in the 1920s. General Electric manufactured several models for a decade, but were not widely available and were cost-prohibitive. The manufacture of electric appliance market exploded with new products for every task. Electric ranges became available and were very popular because they were plated white enamel, which was a great contrast to the black and grey gas versions. Also, being electric they did not require a fireplace or flue to vent the exhaust, just a vent on top was required to eliminate odors from the stovetop. Laundry was still done in the kitchen or basement, but was a slow process until Maytag produced a washer that with an agitator that forced water through the clothing, with two attached rollers to wring out the clothing. (Plante, 227, 253-57)

With the popularity of the Hoosier cabinet, the idea was expanded to include a vertical one to hold brooms and mops. Also, the sink was set into a counter and the work surface was extended across the room so there was a continuous, level counter. This provided room for all of the additional appliances, as well as additional work surfaces. (Plante, 232)

The modern kitchen became much more than the workroom or laboratory that it was before. With the integration of the breakfast table or nook, it allowed for greater interaction between the family, particularly in the morning. The increased size and openness of the kitchen made it a more pleasant environment to work in. The light colored appliances and walls, the natural light from the windows the linoleum floor, the level countertops with ergonomic design all contributed to the comfort of the user. While the kitchen became more family-oriented, it was by no means a public space. The guests were still relegated to the dining room and parlor, or living room.

Today's Kitchen

1940 to Present

Today's kitchen is fairly similar in layout and basic appliances as the modern kitchen. The ample cabinet space, sink, stove and refrigerator still remain the staples. However, the post World War II era ushered in a wide variety of new appliances including freezers, garbage disposals, dishwashers and clothes dryers. While all of the appliances were changing, the most significant change came by way of the floor plans. Open floor plans became the standard, with walls removed between the parlor, now the living room and the kitchen. The dining room was often still a separate room, but the kitchen table became a popular place to eat. The breakfast nook was sometimes replaced with an L shaped counter element or island in the middle. The kitchen was not always at the back of the house either. With the boom of the suburbs, most houses had the kitchen on the side, with the bedrooms in the back and living space in the front. (Plante, 270-5)

The choices for colors were very diverse to fit any décor. In the early part of the century people could usually choose between black, white and sometimes various pastel shades. Later, "avocado" and "harvest gold" became very popular and then became very unpopular. (Plante, 275)

How people use the kitchen of today is drastically different from any other time. The kitchen has become a status symbol, something to show off to guests. The open floor plans allow for movement between rooms and the U and L shaped kitchen layouts created efficient and comfortable "work triangles." Efficient appliances can be ordered in any color that will match the cabinets and floor. Overall the kitchen, while still a place of work, is also a place of socialization. Breakfast is usually served in the kitchen near the microwave and refrigerator. Many smaller houses today eliminate the dining room entirely and add extra space in the kitchen for a table. Kitchens are usually located between the garage, basement stairs, living room, dining room and front hall, making it a hub of traffic and activity.

Today, very few families have outside help with food preparation. Only the most wealthy can afford assistants or nannies, which are compensated fairly, unlike in the Victorian age when immigrants were used as servants, or in the colonial times when slaves were forced to. For those who do not desire to, or have the time, to cook simply buy pre-made dinners or order food in.

The dining room is all but extinct. Moderate to large homes still include one, but many suburban houses are built without them. This lack of formality with dining parallels the lack of formality with the kitchen. It is not a forbidden place for guests, in fact it is common to offer a person a beverage and walk into the kitchen to the refrigerator to get it. Many houses equip the kitchen with a television or computer.

The process of acquiring and cooking food is drastically different today than even 50 years ago. Very few people grow all the food they eat exclusively. Modern kitchens don't have the root cellar or mass-cold storage of old and rely entirely on electric refrigeration, which is enabled by very large refrigerators (compared to the ice boxes). Processed and pre-package food, as well as the availability of food cooked-to-order, kitchens are used less than they were before, ironically in spite of all of the modern conveniences. The microwave and refrigerator are the modern essentials that replaced the hearth and root cellar of old.

Some of the main mechanisms behind the changes in the American kitchen were the Industrial Revolution, the electrification of cities, the automobile and the invention of the suburban home. Also, after World War II as the women entered the workplace the kitchen had to be more efficient and fueled the demand for rapid preparation and serving of food. Improvements of services, such as gas, electricity and water accompanied a wave of appliances and gadgets that allowed for faster and more care-free completion of chores. Also, the kitchen became a statement of style, a statement to be displayed to guests. Entertainment became less formal where a parlor and dining room are not necessary. It isn't considered rude for someone to serve a guest in the kitchen or family room, or to invite people into the kitchen to socialize. All of these innovations and social changes contributed to the progression of the kitchen from the colonial period to today. Since the kitchen will certainly continue to evolve, how will the future kitchen look that will make today look primitive?

Bibliography

1. Brett, James.  The Kitchen: 100 Solutions to Design Problems.  New York : Whitney Library of Design, 1977.
2. Conran, Terence.  The Kitchen Book.  New York : Crown Publishers Inc., 1977.
3. Freeman, June.  The Making of the Modern Kitchen.  New York : Berg, 2004.
4. Harrison, Molly.  The Kitchen in History.  New York : Charles Scribner's Sons, 1972.
5. Plante, Ellen M.  The American Kitchen 1700 to the Present: from Hearth to Highrise.  New York : Facts on File, Inc., 1995.

Image Credits

Title Page. Brett, p. 12.
1. Plante, p. 5.
2. Plante, p. 36.
3. Plante, p. 38.
4. Plante, p. 95.
5. Plante, p. 87.
6. Plante, p. 89.
7. Plante, p. 209.
8. Plante, p. 140.
9. Plante, p. 224.
10. Plante, p. 242.
11. Conran, p. 84.
12. Plante, p. 269.
13. Harrison, p. 71.