At some time in the far distant past, humans were able to domesticate fire. Fire provides warmth and the domestication of fire made it possible for humans to move out of Africa and inhabit colder regions. For most of human existence, warmth in the family home was provided by an open flame—a fire burning in an open hearth and smoke escaping through a hole in the roof or by a fire within a fireplace. In more recent times, however, humans developed metal stoves as a way of warming different rooms in the house or workplace.
Museums often include heating stoves in their displays. Shown below are a few of these stoves.
Wenatchee Valley Museum, Wenatchee, Washington
Fort Vancouver, Vancouver, Washington
Shown above is a heating stove in the bake house.
Shown above is a heating stove in the blacksmith shop.
Shown above is a heating stove in the surgeon’s quarters.
Shown above is a heating stove in the counting house.
Swan Valley Historical Museum, Condon, Montana
Fort Steele Heritage Village, British Columbia
A bedroom heating stove in the McVittie House is shown above.
The little stove shown above heated water for the bathroom in the McVittie House. The hot water tank is behind in the stove. This is located in the hallway outside of the bathroom.
Shown above is the hallway area in the officers’ quarters.
Shown above is the Sergeants Mess.
Shown above is the barracks.
This heating stove is in the St. John the Divine Anglican Church.
This heating stove is in the Presbyterian Church.
This heating stove is in the St. Anthony’s Roman Catholic Church.
This is a heating stove in the Scandinavian-style house.
Fort Steele Heritage Village: The Tinshop
Nevada City Living History Museum, Nevada City, Montana
Fort Dalles Museum, The Dalles, Oregon
Garnet Ghost Town, Montana
During the 1860s, gold lured thousands of miners to Montana’s Garnet Mountains. In 1895, the town of Garnet was established. Today the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the Garnet Preservation Association maintain Garnet in a state of arrested decay.
World Museum of Mining, Butte, Montana
Museums 201
Museums 201 provides photo tours of exhibits from several different museums. More from this series:
Museums 201: Wood-fired kitchen ranges (photo diary)
Museums 201: Washing machines (photo diary)
Museums 201: The blacksmith shop (photo diary)
Museums 201: Ancient Beds (photo diary)
Museums 201: Gas stations and garages (photo diary)
Museums 201: Model railroad dioramas (photo diary)
Museums 201: Electric ranges and refrigerators (photo diary)
Museums 201: Post-War General Motors Automobiles (Photo Diary)