07/16/2026
Long before anybody up the holler had a refrigerator humming in the kitchen, they had a spring house, and it did the same job without ever costing a dime. 💧
It was a little stone or log building set right over top of the cold spring, with the water running through a channel cut in the floor. You would set your crocks of milk and your butter and your buttermilk down in that running water, and the cold of the mountain kept everything sweet. Walking into one on a blazing August afternoon was like stepping into another world, cool and damp and quiet, with just the sound of the water moving over the stones. 🧈
That spring never quit and never needed plugging in. It was the same steady cold in July as it was in January. Our people did not have much, but they were smart with what the land gave them, and a good cold spring was worth more than money.
Did your family have a spring house, or a spot down at the creek where the milk was kept cool? 🏞️
