10/25/2026
As we head into the colder season ❄️ , be thankful for your modern stoves and furnaces! Back in the 1700s, heating, cooking, and lighting were provided by the fireplace. 🔥🪵 Almost every building at Ephrata Cloister has a fireplace!
Now, cooking a meal wasn't as simple as turning a dial. It required the expertise of managing a fire. People would use special tools for cooking, like a trammel hook. This iron hook suspends an iron pot or kettle above the fire.🫕🥘🔥 To simmer, you lifted
the pot. To boil, you put it right into the flames.
Even with the fireplace was going, it was still quite cold in the home, around 50 degrees F. This is where colonial radiators came in! In the Sister's house at Ephrata Cloister, fireplace would have connected through a hole in the wall to a jamb stove, which
heats the room adjoining the fireplace. You would have to step into the hearth and shovel hot coals through the hole into a big box made of iron or ceramic. Once the box got warm enough, it would spread that heat around the next room.
All of this cooking and heating requires lots of wood! The average family in colonial America went through 30 to 40 cords a year. A household effectively cleared about one full acre of tress every year. But even then, 90% of the heat escapes up the chimney.
So to stay extra warm and cozy, the spinners and weavers at Ephrata Cloister would work hard to make wool fabric for blankets, coats, and cloaks. Things have not changed much as we still use coats and blankets to keep warm today!
Come to Historic Ephrata Cloister to learn more about life in colonial America. Step back in time and experience this all for yourself during Candlelight Open House on Saturday November 14th from 5pm to 8pm. Can’t brave the chilly journey? Then be sure to hit
the follow button to watch more videos just like this from the comfort of your home! Stay warm out there!
