Kevin is correct. If it didn't have a pour spout it would have been a sad iron heater. Just as Keven said you would remove two stove eyes and the divider in between them and it would sit into the oval hole left. They also made a tall oval pot that would fit into the same oval hole called a ham boiler. I have a pan like yours and the ham boiler. Just need the wood stove to match! I'm sure they would have used it as a griddle, a fish fryer, and a sad iron heater!