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How Southerners kept cool before fans and air conditioning

“To beat the heat, they tried to make their houses shady, airy, and breezy as possible.”

ATLANTA - A few minutes outside in this summer heat, and you are ready to get back inside to cool down. But has that ever made you wonder how people lived before the modern conveniences like air conditioning?

The William Root House is the oldest remaining house in downtown Marietta. The house is the typical middle class family house for the 1860’s - before electric, fans, and air-conditioning.

The Cobb County home is now a museum, giving a snapshot of what it was like living during that time.

“To beat the heat, they tried to make their houses shady, airy, and breezy as possible,” explained Trevor Beemon, the executive director of the Cobb Landmarks and Historical Society 

Beemon explained the tips and tricks used to cool down during hottest days of the summer in the 1800s, some of which included:

  • Home owners kept all the windows and doors in the house open to keep the air moving.
  • Carpets were pulled up during the summer and put in storage.
  • Thick screens were put on the windows to keep direct sunlight from shining into the house.
  • Upstairs, the ceilings were lower and a home had twice as many windows in an attempt to let the hot air escape.
  • Families put slip covers on all of the furniture to protect them from fading from the heat.
  • Kitchens typically were separate from the home, usually a structure in the back yard. It kept the heat of the stove away from the house and also protected the home from fire.
  • In the bedroom, the mattresses would be changed. In the winter months they used feather mattresses, and in the summer, they would use corn husk or corn leaves.

As Beemon said, by no means did these methods give the feeling of air conditioning. It was still hot in the home. These methods simply helped to make the summers a little more tolerable.

More importantly, The William Root House museum and garden has air-conditioning, so don’t get scared away from visiting. They changed the house from season to season to show what it realistically would have looked like during that time of year.

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