The kitchen’s large cook fireplace is one of the most impressive elements of the entire house, although it was not functional when the Pinnells assumed ownership. 

Photographs dated 1956 and 1960 show the cook fireplace with a reduced firebox and a three-section wooden mantel surround that was most likely original to the house.  The initial restoration of the kitchen fireplace in the 1960s resulted in the addition of a raised stone hearth, but the masonry work did not involve opening the firebox to its original dimensions.    

After a destructive fire in the early 1980s, the fireplace was repaired again (see next two photographs below).  This time, the raised hearth was removed (photo on left) and more extensive masonry work was performed.  The former homeowner’s note on the back of the post-repair photo dated January 1983 (photo on right) explains that the firebox opening was “widened to very first length when built” but that the “depth lacks 12 to 14” of original size.”  The diminished firebox depth meant that there would be insufficient draw for a fire.  A newly constructed lintel and mantel were put up after this second repair.  The charred end pieces of the original lintel are still present within the firebox, so it was obviously destroyed in the fire and had to be replaced.  It is presumed that the three-piece mantel was also damaged beyond repair since there is no evidence of it after the fire.

Above photos: The top left corner of the photo on the left shows the charred lintel.  The photo on the right shows how the restored fireplace looked after the fire. 

The former owners used an iron wood stove set inside the kitchen’s walk-in firebox as a source of heat (see photo below), and the stove was in place when the Pinnells bought the house.  Recognizing that a notable historic feature such as the cook fireplace demanded to be properly preserved, it wasn’t long before the stove was removed.  It was a few years before Dan could tackle the extensive masonry project and return the fireplace to working order, but the visual appearance of the kitchen was greatly improved without the distracting presence of the stove.   

For an entire month in the fall of 2007, Dan worked painstakingly to knock out and rebuild the back stone wall and to expand the flue, which he found had been reduced with fill rubble of stone, brick and cement (a contributing factor to the inadequate draw).  He carefully chipped away at mortar and cement and removed stone after stone, until he finally reached the original back wall.  The right side of the wall was still intact, but the loss of stones from the left side and center section created a 3’ x 5’ size void that Dan sealed with additional stones found on the property.  

After this latest restoration, the dimensions of the firebox are now 6’ 3” wide x 3’ deep x 4’ 10” high.  Dan used museum grade lime mortar in the process and also designed a damper that is operated by a weighted pulley system, that a local metalwork company fabricated for him.  By Christmas 2007, the Pinnells were enjoying their winter meals beside a roaring fire, much to the delight of family, friends and visitors.  

    January 2009 photo courtesy of friends Richard & Jeanne Latham.