For those who could afford it, kitchens were built as separate outbuildings. This reduced the risk of fire spreading, and kept the heat and smells of cooking away from the main house.
The structure used as a kitchen building today was not the Lanes' original kitchen, although it is the appropriate size for a plantation like the Lanes'. This building was actually a middle-class home in the 18th century. The difference between this two-room structure and Joel Lane's house illustrates the disparity between the classes in the 18th century.
