Thanks to archaeological digs carried out in the early 1980s, we know that the Mahaffies' original smokehouse stood about 15 feet behind you, closer to the ice house.
Smokehouses, like ice houses, offered a way to preserve food. In the nineteenth century, salting and smoking were the best methods to keep meat from spoiling - thereby making it possible to store meat for long periods of time.
Butchering was done in the cold months of the year, to keep flies from laying eggs in the fresh meat and prevent spoiling. After they were submerged in a barrel of salt water, or dry-rubbed with salt, pepper, and other ingredients, the cuts of meat were hung in the rafters of the smokehouse over a low, smoky fire for several weeks. Properly prepared, the finished hams, sausage, and bacon could keep for a year or longer. The meat was cooked before it was eaten - the smoking process was for preservation only.
The site's smokehouse was built in recent years to replace the original smokehouse torn down long ago when it was no longer needed.
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