Vickie,
You might have had a root cellar that wasn't attached to the house in any way, but instead was built into the ground much like this picture:
It's located in Pennsylvania and I borrowed the image from this site:
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/...
There are more images of root cellars, different types, if you click that link.
Pegi,
I don't think I've seen or known of a root cellar in the far western states, might be because of a different climate, I'm not sure. And sometimes those slanted doors covered a coal bin as well, so I guess you just never know what you will find behind old doors. Interesting though. I'm usually curious enough to want to know what's behind them.
