In seventeenth-century colonial North America, all day-to-day cooking was done in the fireplace. Generally
large, fireplaces were planned for cooking as well as for warmth. Those in the Northeast were usually four or
five feet high, and in the South, they were often high enough for a person to walk into. A heavy timber called
the mantel tree was used as a lintel to support the stonework above the fireplace opening. This timber might
be scorched occasionally, but it was far enough in front of the rising column of heat to be safe from catching
fire.