Kitchen oven and fireplace by matcrazy1
There is an impressive, stone oven, in the kitchen of the Governor's Palace. It was used both for heating (like classical, decorative fireplaces) and mainly for cooking. Wood was used for both heating and cooking in colonial Virginia in 18th century. There was a lot of trees in Williamsburg that time. Later on, the wood had to be transported from surrounding areas. During the Civil War, the Union troops which occupied Williamsburg, used numerous wooden fences for heating and cooking.