It appears that this has been expanded over time. I first thought it was a smokehouse, but Jesse Bookhardt notes that it is similar in design to tool barns or tool houses he remembers from his youth. I believe it is part of the well-maintained historic Daniel property.
We have a similar structure on our farm on Bacon County with open front storage areas added on each side where the tractor , plows, etc. were parked. On the back was a covered area with a cattle/horse stall. Daddy and others built it. We always called it the pack house. We stored dried tobacco in the center section (totally enclosed) in the summers and removed it from the sticks and put it on the sheets and stored them inside until they went to market. Daddy also stored hay bales and other feed for the animals in there. It was general storage. It still stands, though now it is just storage. Tobacco has long been gone and the land has been planted in long leaf pines, save for the garden spot and the small pasture behind the house.
Brian, I am not sure that I agree that this building is an old smokehouse. Perhaps, but it sits on cement piers and most smokehouses sat closer to the ground. The meat was smoked from controlled fires on the floor. This facility probably had a wooden floor that you might find in a tool house, storage house, etc. I remember this style of building being used as a place for fertilizer, seeds, tools, etc. My grandpa and great uncle both had such a building on their farms and they were called tool houses. Great photo. Keep up the good work.
Thanks, Jesse. I wasn’t really sure, since it’s a bit larger than the normal smokehouse, but sometimes it’s hard to distinguish with so many images and places in mind! I always look forward to and appreciate your comments.
Thanks as always, John.