Answer:
Radiators for home heating weren't generally available until the 1900s, and central heat and air came much later. Before that, people had to do other things to keep warm. Long before electricity, the kitchen was usually the warmest room in the house, (and the house might only have one or two big rooms) because it was near the stove or the hearth. People spent time in the kitchen together to be near that warmth. Fireplaces were the next way people found to keep warm, and old houses and apartment buildings had a fireplace in nearly every room. People long ago also wore more clothes in Winter to keep warm. (Learn more about layering clothing in Winter Safety)

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Victorian School Days
http://history.powys.org.uk/school1/llanfyllin/cold.shtml
This site tells about how Victorian schools were heated in the 1880s. It was sometimes so cold that the ink would freeze when students tried to work!

Colonial Kitchens
http://www.replitiques.com/history.html#kitchen
This site talks about colonial America and the role the kitchen had as the center of the home, as well as how it was decorated and how kitchen items were made.