FROM THE ARCHIVES

(By Stephen Kelley from the People’s Defender 1984)

Upon Captain James F. Summers of the 70th Ohio Volunteer Infantry’s tragic death during the siege of Atlanta in 1864, his officer’s sword was given to his good friend and fellow Adams Countian, Second Lieutenant Samuel J. Matticks. Today, this sword is in the possession of Matticks’ great grandson, Jimmy Clark of Tollesboro, Kentucky.

James had moved to Ohio in 1835 with his parents, Jacob and Elizabeth Summers. Upon his father’s death in 1852, he received as his inheritance the section of the family farm at Marble Furnace upon which sat the Summers’ old homestead. When deeded this property in 1853, there was the stipulation to James that “the widow is to remain (in) possession of the Mansion and curtilages during her natural life.”

Among these “curtilages” was the little brick springhouse which sat at the base of a small hill behind the “mansion.” Of the house and numerous outbuildings, only the springhouse survived the onslaught of time and elements and was still standing as late as 1980.

As was the home, the springhouse was of brick construction, having been erected in 1825 on a rough hewn stone foundation. The bricks had been fired in a temporary kiln located on the work stie. Many of the bricks were crude in appearance, several displaying large cracks in them, nearly all with an extremely rough finish. These were probably rejects left over after the construction to the main house.

The springhouse was eight feet wide by ten feet in length and had a stone floor inside. The spring, which continues to flow today, was located outside the front of the structure and had large hewn stones placed around it creating a pit in which the water collected. This was designed so a bucket could be easily dipped inside this stonework to provide the family’s daily water needs. The overflow from the pit was channeled under a stone pavement in front of the entrance to the Springhouse. The water was then diverted to shallow troughs, one on either side of the stone floor inside the building.

In these troughs were placed stoneware and crockery containing milk, cream and other dairy products that needed the cool temperatures provided by the cold spring water. An opening was made at the rear of the spring house for the water to flow to the outside. For all practical purposes, a springhouse was the refrigerator of our forefathers. Shelving was built on the interior walls for storing canned goods, fruits and vegetables and other perishable foodstuffs that required low temperatures for preservation.

A vent made of horizontally placed wooden shaves, fastened within a thin wood frame, was located in the rear wall to allow the warm air to escape.

The rafters for the roof rested on six-inch square hewn plate logs that extended several feet beyond the front of the building to provide a cover for the entry and spring. the rafters were anchored into these plates with hand forged spikes, five inches in length. These, no doubt, were made from the iron being produced at the nearby Marble Furnace. The rafters were connected at the crest of the roof with lap joins and “nailed” with wooden pegs known as trunnels (tree nails). The roof itself was covered with split wood shingles.

The door was simply two wide planks of poplar nailed together side by side. It opened by means of a bean-style wrought iron thumb latch. A rare, wooden box lock attached to the inside of the door and operated by a key, provided security against possible theft. The door was mounted inside a heavy oak frame and swung on pintles driven securely into the frame.

The long strap hinges were of spear design made of wrought iron manufactured at the Marble Furnace foundry.