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A spring house, or springhouse, is a small building, usually of a single room, constructed over a
spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a h ...
. While the original purpose of a springhouse was to keep the spring water clean by excluding fallen leaves, animals, etc., the enclosing structure was also used for
refrigeration The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...
before the advent of ice delivery and, later, electric refrigeration. The water of the spring maintains a constant cool temperature inside the spring house throughout the year. Food that would otherwise spoil, such as meat, fruit, or
dairy product Dairy products or milk products, also known as lacticinia, are food products made from (or containing) milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, nanny goat, and ewe. Dairy products include common grocery store food items i ...
s, could be kept there, safe from animal depredations as well. Springhouses thus often also served as pumphouses, milkhouses, and
root cellar A root cellar (American English), fruit cellar (Mid-Western American English) or earth cellar (British English) is a structure, usually underground. or partially underground, used for storage of vegetables, fruits, nuts, or other foods. Its n ...
s. The Tomahawk Spring spring house at Tomahawk, West Virginia, was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1994.


Gallery

Image:springhouse.jpg, A small spring house near Collegeville,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. Image:15 21 197_indian_springs.jpg, Stone spring house at
Indian Springs State Park Indian Springs State Park is a 528-acre (2.14 km²) Georgia state park located near Jackson and Flovilla. The park is named for its several springs, which the Creek Indians used for centuries to heal the sick. The water from these spring ...
. File:The Brewery Spring springhouse in Silver Plume, Colorado. The little structure, which supplied a good part of town with spring water, took its name from a brewery across the street LCCN2015633052.tiff, The Brewery Spring springhouse in
Idaho Springs The City of Idaho Springs is the Statutory City that is the most populous municipality in Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States. Idaho Springs is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 201 ...
,
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...
.


See also

*
Ice house (building) An ice house, or icehouse, is a building used to store ice throughout the year, commonly used prior to the invention of the refrigerator. Some were underground chambers, usually man-made, close to natural sources of winter ice such as freshwat ...
*
Smokehouse A smokehouse (North American) or smokery (British) is a building where meat or fish is cured with smoke. The finished product might be stored in the building, sometimes for a year or more.
* Windcatcher


References


External links

* House types Cooling technology Food preservation Semi-subterranean structures Springs (hydrology) Vernacular architecture {{house-type-stub