New England Antiquities Research Association

Gilbert Stuart birthplace displays “Leaching Stone.”

Dan Lorraine

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March 3, 2007

I stopped by the birthplace of famous RI portrait painter Gilbert Stuart and was surprised to see the "Leaching Stone" below that I photographed with my cell phone.  There was a sign with this description on it:

The Leaching Stone

A barrel with holes in the bottom was filled about half way with ashes and set on top of the stone.  This was done before the 19th century.  Later in the 19th century people started using coal.  The wood ashes were saturated with water and allowed to set for about two weeks.  The barrel was filled with water and allowed to seep through on the leaching stone.  Then it flowed out to the edges and spout where it was collected as potash lye.  Lye was used to make soap by mixing it with vegetable or animal fat

Comment by Dave Goudsward:

That is an atypically large lye stone. It would be interesting to learn the dimensions. Something that big could be a tar kiln. They give a decent description, except the sign should further note that a lye stone would be elevated to allow the collection bucket space beneath the run off. The only time a lye stone would be found flush with the ground is after it had outlived its use and was used as a stepping stone. Old Sturbridge Village has two stepping stones that are former lye stones.

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