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Root cellars played an important role for generations. They were used to protect and preserve stored vegetables from frost in winter and the heat of the summer. One of the first actions of John Guy's colonists in their 1610 plantation in Cupids was to dig a storage cellar.¹
Families in the Burnt Head area grew their vegetables in their kitchen gardens. Most were eaten fresh, but it was necessary to put some aside for the winter. Vegetables could be bottled, pickled, or salted, and most would be stored in the root cellar.²
Root cellars come in many shapes and sizes. In this region, the "Hatch and Shed" style is common.³ For these, a hole was dug into the earth and lined with rocks to create a foundation. A shed was built above, with a hatch in the wooden floor for accessing the root cellar. The shed and floor helped insulate the cellar and protect the vegetables. Typically, cellars were built between the fields where crops were grown and the house to which the cellar belonged.
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| A Morgans Cove root cellar. The mound in the middle distance, beyond the interpretation post, marks the remains of a root cellar. Dwarf juniper grows inside the hollow. Most cellars were lined with neatly laid stone walls, and several still have some of their original stone work. |
For storage, harvested vegetables were placed in divided wooden compartments. Potatoes and turnip were stored in these compartments, carrots and parsnip were placed in bins or buckets, and cabbage was stored higher up, sometimes hung from the ceiling. Jams, jellies, pickles, and relishes would also be kept in the root cellar, because of its cool temperature.
The remains of over forty root cellars can be seen along the Burnt Head Trail, although there are perhaps more to be found. It can be difficult to identify them now because the wooden sheds were removed by families when they moved out of the area. Today, all that is left are the rock-lined holes—may of which have been taken over by nature. So be careful where you step!
² Agricultural Society of Newfoundland and Labrador, The Practice of Gardens in Newfoundland and Labrador
³ Crystal Braye, "Exploring Our Roots: A Heritage Inventory of Newfoundland's Root Cellars," Occasional Paper on Intangible Cultural Heritage, No. 003, April 2013.