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.
It would seem that a room in the house devoted to cooking should be known as the cooking room. With regard to etymology, kitchen entered into English about 1200 from the Old English cycene which is from the Proto-Germanic *kokina which is based on the Proto-Indo-European root *pekw- meaning “to cook.”
Shown below are some museum displays of kitchens.
Boon House, Willamette Heritage Center, Salem, Oregon
The Boon House was constructed in 1847 and is believed to be the oldest single-family dwelling in Salem, Oregon. The first occupants were John D. Boon (1817-1864) and his family who had come to Oregon in a covered wagon on the Oregon Trail. The house was moved to its current location on the Willamette Heritage Center in Salem in 1972.
Campbell House, Spokane, Washington
The Campbell House in Spokane, Washington, operates as a house museum, interpreting life at the turn of the 20th century.
Stevensville Historical Museum, Stevensville, Montana
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 201/301
This series provides photo tours of similar exhibits from several museums. More from this series:
Museums 301: Sewing machines (photo diary)
Museums 301: Schools (photo diary)
Museums 301: Typewriters (photo diary)
Museums 301: Wood-fired kitchen ranges (photo diary)
Museums 201: Quilts (photo diary)
Museums 201: The blacksmith shop (photo diary)
Museums 201: Antique farming equipment (photo diary)
Museums 201: Gas stations and garages (photo diary)