Laundry House

The Laundry House in the Dungeness Historic District

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Location:

Cumberland Island - Southend

Designation:

National Register of Historic Places - Dungeness Historic District

Amenities

8 listed

Accessible Rooms, Benches/Seating, Picnic Table, Restroom, Restroom - Accessible, Toilet - Flush, Water - Bottle-Filling Station, Water - Drinking/Potable

The Laundry House is a Carnegie Era building that served as the main laundry facility for the Dungeness Estate. This structure was most likely the primary laundry facility for the main house and the employee quarters.  The Dungeness Laundry House probably served other Carnegie estates on the island. Machinery used by employees performing laundry duties is on display, including large washing sinks, a hot water tank and stove, and a laundry mangle. The mangle is a large machine with two rollers and a crank. Washed and rinsed fabrics were rolled through the mangle using a hand crank. This helped squeeze out much of the water for fast drying as well as flattened out any wrinkles in the fabric. Cranking the handle was hard work, and it took at least two people to operate the mangle. There is a screw on the top of the machine that allow the rollers to be adjusted to accommodate the thickness of the fabric.  

Currently the Laundry House is used as a restroom facility. Bathrooms and treated drinking water are available inside. The Laundry House is the only restroom and water refilling station in the Dungeness Ruins area.