While some ice would last year-round in theory, in actual practice one could still plan on cooling the lemonade at least through July if the summer proved hot. Wood, of course, was plentiful in large sizes for the stoves and fireplaces, and split kindlings for starting the fires. It was stored, split and stacked in a woodhouse next to the ice house, also adjacent to the mansion. Of course, that would imply the presence of barns and stables for the horses, cattle and carriages, as well as for their fodder and summer feed. These buildings have been preserved and are generally interpreted as they would have appeared during the John Wharton era.
Visitors generally wonder at the presence of a second towered building here in the village.
This is the piggery, recently restored and opened, where hogs were slaughtered and processed. Because both horses and mules were utilized for work and transport at the village, the Richards families, later the Whartons, maintained active blacksmith, sawmill and wheelwright shop operations. Many of the timbers and shingles, tools, hardware, hinges, latches and locks first used when the village was active, and then recreated during its restoration, were made in these shops. Nearby the gristmill stands the corn crib, an airy structure with overhanging roof and ventilated sides to prevent the stored corn from mildewing. When corn was needed for meal, it was brought into the upper part of the gristmill by a belt-driven system, then shelled for grinding on the wheels below.