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The kitchen was probably built about the same time as the original portion of the Bennehan House (in 1787). Building a separate kitchen was a common practice among the elite in the South. This was due to several factors: the danger of fire, the intense heat of the kitchen, and the lingering odor of both cooked and stored food. The Bennehan kitchen was a timber-framed, two-story structure measuring 28' x 16', with a dry-laid stone foundation and a wood shingle roof. There were three windows, each measuring 2' high and 20" wide. The windows closed with plank shutters. It is believed that the cook and members of her family slept in the loft above the kitchen, and that a small kitchen garden supplied the necessary vegetables and herbs. an archaeological excavation of the kitchen site in 1980 unearthed a small belt buckle, several buttons, and an assortment of animal bones, including pork and fish.
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