Root Cellar

In the 1830s, the DeButts family used this root cellar as the closest thing they had to a refrigerator. Built partly underground, it stayed damp, well ventilated, and very cool without freezing, with ventilation chimneys on the north and south sides. Root cellars were used mainly to store root crops such as beets, carrots, potatoes, and turnips, which offered farmers important advantages because some were ready to eat early in spring, others could remain in the ground until after the first frost, and many could be eaten even before fully maturing. When properly stored, some root crops lasted for months without spoiling, and other vegetables such as squash, cabbages, onions, and melons also kept better there, allowing the family to store vegetables well into the winter.

Forest Heights, Maryland · United States