Name/Title
Lifter, StoveEntry/Object ID
2004.021.115Description
Stove lifter found in the parlor of 607 Grove Street during an archaeological excavation. The lifter looks very well used. The wooden handle fits into a curved metal piece which actually lifts the lid off of a coal or wood burning stove. Apparently the wood became dehydrated and the metal part fell off, because someone wrapped the end of the wooden handle with a piece of cotton cloth and fit it back inside the metal portion. There is also a small metal piece inserted into the back end of the handle. It may have acted as a hook for storage.
This stove lid lifter may have fallen under the floor in the parlor through a damaged board or knot hole prior to the fire, or while repairs were being made to the floor after the fire. Coal burning stoves were used in the house until radiators were installed in the 1920s.