Drying House

Present-day woodshed garden, similar to one that would have been grown in the communal period

Photo courtesy of Amana Convention and Visitors Bureau

Quick Facts

Location:

4119 V Street, Homestead IA

Significance:

Food preservation

Designation:

National Historic Landmark

OPEN TO PUBLIC:

No

A small garden was located adjacent to a house, and residents could plant what they chose. Each kitchen house had a kitchen garden space assigned to it. Cabbage, rhubarb, lettuce, and beans were among the items planted in the gardens. Raspberries, currants, and gooseberries also grew in the small gardens on the interiors of residential blocks and the berries were used in the communal kitchens. Apple, cherry, plum, and peach trees were commonly found surrounding kitchen houses, other communal dwellings, and in orchards at the village fringe.

 

The Drying House in Homestead was used to dry fruits and vegetables. In the drying house, beans and fruit were placed on racks to be dried by the heat from a small oven in the room.