The Old Kitchen

The old kitchen on Poplar Grove Farm is one of just six of these structures remaining in the county. Our kitchen is mentioned in the Historic Resources Survey Report of Stafford County in 1992:

Detached Kitchens:

Detached kitchens are often associated with early single-family dwellings on both farms and non-
farm residences. Detached kitchens are generally one-story structures set in proximity to, but
away from the house for convenience and fire-safety reasons. Most commonly of frame
construction in Virginia, the six kitchens identified in Stafford County are of brick and frame
construction. The interiors of detached kitchens most often contain one large room where food
was prepared and cooked. In some instances, a separate room or loft area was incorporated
into the building to serve as living quarters for the kitchen staff. Beginning in the mid-
nineteenth century, the detached kitchen tended to be replaced by a kitchen located in the main
house, either at basement level and with a separate exterior entrance, or as a rear wing.

Detached kitchens identified during the survey of Stafford County include those at Sherwood
Forest (89-14); Hollywood (89-72); House, Rt 720 (89-145); Oakenwold (89-157); Park Farm
(89-186); and Poplar Grove Farm (89-218).

Historic Resources Survey Report of Stafford County, June 1992, p18