LYE STONES

During early pioneer days a lye stone was used to leach lye from wood ashes.  The collected lye was a very important and necessary product for early settlers.  It was used not only for making soap but also for processing dried field corn into hominy.  Early soaps were made by combining lye with rendered animal fat.  In the making of hominy, dried corn was soaked in lye to soften and crack the hard kernels.  The corn was then washed and boiled for food.  Corn hominy was a staple food in pioneer homes during the winter months since the storage of dried corn was relatively easy and spoilage was not a problem.

In Holmes County a lye stone would be cut from native sandstone.  The stone was first rounded to about 24″ in diameter to fit a hollowed tree section and then carefully tapered and grooved for the drainage and collection of lye.  This procedure was as follows (see illustrations and photo):

·        the carved lye stone was placed on a tree stump cut off near the ground

·        then a hollow tree section was placed on top of the lye stone

·        wood ashes were collected from wood stoves, fireplaces, burning piles, etc. and dumped into the hollow tree section

·        rain water or hand-pailed water would slowly leach through the wood ashes (also called potash), and the resulting lye solution would drain into the lye stone grooves and be collected in a vessel at the stone’s drain opening

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