Our ancestors had domesticated fire by about 1.6 million years and with fire they began cooking their food. For most of human history, cooking was done over an open fire, and, in most cases, this fire was not located within the house or dwelling. As people began to settle into permanent villages with substantial houses following the development of agriculture, cooking often moved inside. Eventually, a room in the house, known in modern English as the kitchen, developed for food preparation and cooking.
Shown below are some museum displays of kitchens.
Sherman County Historical Museum in Moro, Oregon
According to the museum display:
“The white cupboard, used here for dishes, was commonly used in a pantry. The white kitchen cabinet, a baking center, held bins of flour and sugar, bulk foods and spices. So very fortunate was the housewife who had a porcelain sink with running water.
A turn-of-the-century cast-iron wood-burning stove provided heat for cooking, warmth, heating irons and water for Saturday night baths and laundry. In season, most women ‘put up’ hundreds of jars of canned fruit, vegetables and meat for the next year.”
Shown above is the kitchen farmhouse.
Presby House Museum, Goldendale, Washington
Shown above is the kitchen in the homestead cabin exhibit.
Anderson Homestead, Fort Dalles Museum, The Dalles, Oregon
Deschutes Historical Museum, Bend, Oregon
Fort Steele Heritage Village, British Columbia
Shown above is the kitchen in the Lamdi House.
Shown above is the kitchen in the McVittie House.
Shown above is the kitchen in the Officers’ Quarters
Nevada City Living History Museum, Nevada City, Montana
Shown above is the kitchen in the Dupuis House.
Shown above is the kitchen in the Sedman House.
Shown above is another view of the kitchen in the Sedman House.
Renton History Museum, Renton, Washington
White River Valley Museum, Auburn, Washington
Shown above is the kitchen in a Japanese-American house.
The lssei were the first generation of Japanese immigrants. According to the display:
“Japanese immigrant women farmed our Valley’s soil and often raised large families. They set strong examples of hard work, personal honor and family devotion.”
The Japanese in the area were arrested following the Japanese military attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Some were imprisoned at Fort Missoula, Montana and others at Camp Harmony in Puyallup, Washington and the Tule Lake Internment Camp in California.
Shown above is the kitchen in a farmer’s log cabin.
Tillamook County Pioneer Museum, Tillamook, Oregon
One of the displays is Grandma’s Kitchen.
Parish House at the Cataldo Mission, Idaho
Meals for the Jesuits were social occasions. Breakfast, usually at 7:05 AM, was a silent meal. Lunch and supper were often accompanied by inspirational religious readings. Meals frequently featured pasta with fish and game.
Klager House, Woodland, Washington
This Victorian farmhouse in Woodland, Washington was built in 1889 and is now a National Historic Site.
Paugh Regional History Hall in the Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman, Montana
World Museum of Mining, Butte, Montana
Heritage Museum, Libby, Montana
Powell County Museum, Deer Lodge, Montana
Museums 201
In this series, displays from different museums are featured. More from this series:
Museums 201: Sewing machines (photo diary)
Museums 201: Shoes (photo diary)
Museums 201: Mining Displays (photo diary)
Museums 201: Quilts (photo diary)
Museums 201: Modern beds (photo diary)
Museums 201: Swords, knives, and other sharp things (photo diary)
Museums 201: The timber industry (photo diary)
Museums 201: The blacksmith shop (photo diary)