Dry houses popular locally to preserve food a century ago
By Bill Lattin
Orleans County Historian
ASHWOOD – Our photo was take a little over 100 years ago and shows the Ashwood Dry House in Ashwood.
This was located on the Yates-Carlton Townline Road along the old “Hojack” Railroad. Back at this time there were more than 40 dry houses in the county producing dried apples each season.
Women were hired each fall during harvest to peel and slice the apples for drying purposes. This was one method of food preservation before freezing and more modern canning methods.
