Arranging the Farm Kitchen for Efficiency in the Early 20th Century

Abstract

In 1915 the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) asked some farmwomen what kind of information they required. At the time, legislation to establish the Extension Service was under consideration, so one focus was what assistance Extension personnel could give farmwives. Among the replies were requests for information on improved kitchens, a hot topic at the time since scientific management, with its emphasis on efficiency and sanitation, was expanding into the concept of home design. The USDA responded with some publications, but not as many directly concerned with redesign as might be expected. The women Extension agents, however, were busy teaching kitchen planning and set the pattern for future farm kitchen designs in the latter half of the century. The USDA and land-grant university publications helped farmwomen update their kitchens to the new standards that made kitchens more convenient and comfortable.