Early settlers on the prairies didn’t have much wood available,
so they burned what they had, whether buffalo chips or cow
chips. In many areas, prairie hay became an important fuel
source.
A c c o r d i n g t o t h e
Nebraska State Historical
Society, the practice was
especially common in the
central and northern parts
of that state.
Burning loose grass
required constant attention
as it was fed into stoves.
Twisted grass provided
more concentrated heat.
In 1876 a patent was
g r a n t e d t o a D a k o t a
Territory resident for a machine to twist hay or straw for
fuel. Such machines twisted the stems and cut them to length.
Special stoves were designed just for burning hay, with
patents issued for at least 5 hay burners between 1877 and
1882. The first of these, the 1878 vintage hay burner shown
above, was donated to the Society in 1934. It used removable,
spring-operated, cylindrical magazines to feed hay into the
stove. A supply of packed cylinders would be kept on hand
to be quickly inserted as needed.
Another common design was the wash boiler stove. A metal
container stuffed with grass was turned upside down over the
firebox and connected to the stove. Reportedly, it could hold
a fire for 2 hrs. if tightly packed.
The cylinder stove and the wash boiler stove were multi-
purpose. In addition to being space heaters, they served as
cooktops and ovens.
According to one early settler, burning grass was superior
to wood. In an 1877 letter to his brother, Daniel Oaks said,
“Now D.B. I would like to tell you about how we get along
without wood for fuel. Instead of working my team to death
hauling wood from 20 miles away, I just take my mower and
horses and go down to the Sioux bottom. In two days I can
cut and put up enough hay to last me one year.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Nebraska State
Historical Society, P.O. Box 82554, Lincoln, Neb. 68501
I'd do it all day (except for the onions as they give me gas so limited at 2 meals).
