2 Copper Boilers

Before electric washing machines, farm families depended on a copper wash boiler to clean clothing, bedding, and linens. Filled with water and heated on a wood- or coal-burning cookstove, the boiler produced the hot water needed for one of the week's most labor-intensive chores. Clothes were often soaked, scrubbed on a washboard, boiled to remove stubborn stains, and then rinsed before being hung outdoors to dry. Made of durable copper with wooden handles to protect against heat, these boilers were found in countless farmhouses throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s.