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Located near the kitchen and adjacent to the well, the wash house was the place the clothes were washed, ironed or rolled. At certain times of the year candles were dipped and soap was made here. According to “The House Book” published in Philadelphia in 1828, the wash house or laundry should have a large fireplace for boiling a large quantity of water and should be located near a water source. The wash house at Adena follows this advice. There is a well outside the laundry and a large fireplace for heating water is available. There is also a space for storing dry wood.
The Book further advised that in the case that the water was hard a quantity of lye should be available to soften the water (1gallon lye to 4 gallon of water). Catching rainwater in a barrel to wash clothes was also recommended. There is no evidence that such barrels were kept at Adena, but probably there were since that was the prevailing practice at the time.
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Adena Mansion and Gardens
Thomas Worthington & Family
Tecumseh
The Old Northwest Territory
Ohio Statehood
Great Seal of the State of Ohio
Benjamin Latrobe
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