The April 3, 1890 Bridgeton Pioneer carried an ad that introduced us to an old term that was new to us. The advertisement is for mills and pumps, particularly “cucumber pumps at all prices.” This sent us searching for a definition. There were turn-of-the-century references, but John L. Cotter, Daniel G. Roberts and Michael Parrington’s 1992 book The Buried Past: An Archaeological History of Philadelphia offered an explanation.The cucumber pump was outside the kitchen and got its name because it was “always painted green!” Whether the term was local to Philadelphia and South Jersey or used more broadly is another question.
