Learn a Few Fun Facts About the Wood-Burning Stove
A woodstove could once be found in nearly every American home, but today, more efficient means of heating have taken over. Here’s a brief history of a centuries-old device, the wood-burning stove!
The first metal wood-burning stove is said to have been invented in 16th-century Europe, but the stove became more common nearly 200 years later, during the Industrial Revolution.
In the 1740s, a wood shortage in Philadelphia inspired Benjamin Franklin to improve upon the existing open hearth. His three-sided iron box, aptly named the Franklin stove, used only one-quarter as much fuel as a fireplace and could raise the room temperature higher in a shorter time.
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Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Unfortunately, Franklin’s design was not as iron-clad as the product itself, and it did not gain much popularity. However, many subsequent wood stove designs did derive inspiration from Franklin’s stove.
Despite the wood stove’s superiority, people resisted the switch from the inefficient, wood-gobbling, smoky open hearth to the hotter, more efficient fire contained by a wood stove. Were those rock-ribbed early settlers romantics who preferred the dreamy glow of a crackling fire?
Robert Bailey Thomas, the founder of The Old Farmer’s Almanac, wrote in 1823:
“So then, you have a cooking stove! This is economical, saving much wood and labour. I know it by experience. But many people are so prejudiced against them that they will scarcely look at one. Wood has become a cash article nowadays in my neighborhood. I have procured me one of Rich’s cooking stoves and think I save half my wood by it nearly.”
Photo courtesy of the National Parks Service.
Practicality won out in the end, and by the beginning of the 20th century, 40 million American homes were heated with wood stoves, often a behemoth, nickel-plated Home Comfort or Queen Atlantic.
But, as people found other ways to heat their houses, the popularity of wood stoves waned, only to come around again in the 1970s. Then, a new generation realized the truth behind the old country saying, “Wood warms you thrice—when you chop it, stack it, and burn it.”
Do you still use a wood stove in your home? Let us know in the comments!
Wondering which wood burns best? See our list of best-burning firewood to use. Also, be sure to read our tips for keeping warm in winter!
Catherine Boeckmann
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We have large wood stove as well as have a central heat/air with gas heating unit. Spend 500 to 800 dollars for several winter's worth of firewood (now that older and no longer physically able to obtain it for free and chop it) .... or spend 600 per month, every single month, on the electricity and gas (mostly the electricity) to run the central unit all winter long. Central unit remains shut off except for when needed for cooling during hottest parts of the day for hottest portion of summer time leading into end of summer drought season.
I didn't know anything about wood stoves, until I lived in Massachusetts for 4 yrs. I first lived in the Berkshires, & the Air BNB had a wood stove in the finished basement. Thankfully the person who I later befriended was born and raised in New England, & taught me everything. I see them as completely efficient way to not only heat your home cheaply, but also to cook and dry clothing, if the power goes out. I think every home should have at least 1.
We have two wood stoves for heat, one on lower level and one on upper, for really cold days. We live on an island in Northern Ontario, so no natural gas and power can go out for extended periods. There is nothing better than wood heat. Throw a cast iron Dutch Oven on the stove in the morning with some potatoes and let them roast all day. Yummy. You can always cook cowboy food when the power is out.
We do have electric for backup, if we ever decide to go away for a few days, but why leave paradise?
Here in North Florida it can get a bit chilly in the early morning Winters- we have a wood burning stove that cuts down on some of the Winter electric bill.
We have a friend cut down a few trees every couple of years and we use the chain saw to cut into manageable pieces, then we split it with our own 25ton log splitter. We then stack it and let it dry for a year in the Summer heat.
Woodstoves provide heat cooking calming sounds.
Where oil you need 400 to 500 up front plus hydro to even get it in the home. Same as most other type of heat . Pay it for then pay hydro.
So wood yes has work stack bring it in may get smoKY when starting. But it's the cost of wood fresh air. Nice heat. Better on black outs , loss of hydro for days. Prefer wood
I live in north east Scotland, (The Highlands). We have been married for 42 years and we have never been without a wood burning stove, they have always been the heart of our home. Our stove heats the water as well as heating our home. I so enjoyed your article, I look forward to my daily Almanac emails, they take me to a place that is different but also very like my home here in the Highlands. We loose power often through the winter up here and we would not be without our stove, we are 5 miles from the nearest village and when we get snow we can be snowed in for days as we are at the moment, our grandchildered love it.
We have always heated our home with a free standing wood stove for the past 50+ years. We have had a most efficient Buck stove for over 40 years (we upgraded to a larger one about 40 years ago). Our home is almost 6000 Sq feet with most living quarters on first and second floor (3500+ Sq ft) and some rooms in the basement. Our electric bill in the winter runs around $200 a month while our neighbors this year with smaller homes are paying $700-1000 a month. We cook with electric. We have a backup electric heat pump that will kick on if the first floor gets below 65 degrees, which it hardly ever does. We have a fan at the top of the stairs that blows down warm air from the upstairs and also keep all rooms up there closed when not in use. I have a vascular disease and have always been cold, so I cannot tolerate below 70, and much prefer 80 as my hands will not work well at temperatures below 75.
I have used a clean burning Quad-fire woodstove for over 25 years. It's in use when I'm home and the kero stove when I'm away. I like the even warmth I get from it vs the 4° cycling of the thermostat on the kero. I also have 26 acres of woods, so fuel isn't a problem. Just take out the blowdowns and dead trees and that's enough.
We have 2 wood stoves in the house. 1 in our sun room and 1 in the basement. We really have no need for the gas boiler except when we are not home for a while.
We have a wood gasification boiler with hot water baseboard. We have been heating our home with this since 1986. Prior to this, we had an air tight chunk stove that we used to heat our former home since 1970.
