Hmm... It would be far less safe than the full, finished basement under the house, 30 yards away...plus the property is down in a holler, has never seen any tornadic activity. The thing has me baffled, I'll admit. I appreciate the responses. I'll take another photo when I've cleared the floor, and I'll look for any signs of fire or a stove or anything.
I can't imagine it storing food, because it gets far too hot here... and again, there is a basement, which is underground and would be more suitable for that purpose. 'Course, that doesn't mean someone didn't BUILD it for one of these purposes, even if it was a bad idea. It was already there when the guy who owned the house before me bought the place, and he didn't know what it was, but also guessed "smokehouse." I'm stymied.
