Boyhood Home Smokehouse

The Johnson family used the smokehouse building for various functions.

NPS Photo / Jack Burton

The large building closest to the Boyhood Home was known as the smokehouse. This two-room structure was multi-functional, as remembered by the Johnson siblings. Today, the east room displays tools of the 1920s, but growing up, the Johnsons recall their father, Sam, using that room for smoking meats. The west room was a playroom for the children, but it also had shelves where their mother, Rebekah, could keep books and magazines. The lean-to shed on the south side had laundry tubs and a large iron pot for rendering lard.