Smokehouse

Smokehouse. . , The November 1857 Harper's New Monthly Magazine Magazine drawing of the site shows the Landon Carter Haynes smokehouse behind his house. The smokehouse or meat house was an essential structure used for preserving fish, poultry, beef, and pork. In 1967, the smokehouse was rebuilt by removing modern siding that had been added by Samuel and Lawson Simerly., Prior to the invention of the refrigerator, the Tipton and Haynes families had to preserve their meat with salt and smoke. Animals were typically slaughtered in the late fall to early winter. An animal that was butchered in the spring or summer was quickly cooked, consumed, and the leftovers disposed of. The preserving or curing of meat was a two-step process. The butchered meat would first be coated and pack in salt for several weeks. This would draw salt into the flesh and meat. The salted meat was then hung in the smokehouse and a small smoldering fire was built. A fire was kept smoldering for one to two weeks in order to dry and smoke the meat. The cured meat would be left hanging for months and even years until ready to be consumed., (Captions) , This late 1960s photograph shows the rebuilt smokehouse. , Cured meat hanging within the Simerly smokehouse prior to the 1967 restoration.