We were able to tour one of those historic village while on vacation this past summer.
I it was very interesting to me as I grew up on a modern city. I never even thought about things like, indoor plumbing, electricity, or the need of HVAC systems. I can’t even imagine having to visit an outhouse in the middle of the night during the winter. The other big problem they had back then was trying not to freeze to death during the long cold Northern winters. Most of the pioneer homes were basically one room with a big fireplace, so that may have been fine, but the larger homes, I couldn’t imagine trying to keep warm. They had a fireplace in many of the rooms and trying to keep them all going through the night must have been nearly impossible. It wasn’t until Benjamin Franklin, our former President, invented the “Franklin Stove” that things become easier. This cast iron stove required less tending and produced a more efficient heat source. Their popularity spread as people moved west. The larger models were used in factories and mills until the implementation of electric and gas burning HVAC systems many years later. After learning all we did, I am very grateful to live in a time where we have so many options to heat and cool our homes. I even have the ability to control my system with my cell phone. If Benjamin Franklin were to come back today and see the advancements I am sure he would be amazed. I would love to show him how to search the internet.