On Saturday, Dave and I attended the Historic Fincastle Fall Festival. It was a perfect autumn day, and some trees were beginning to turn. Fincastle was established in 1772 as the county seat of Botetourt County. The town was strategically situated along the Great Wagon Road and the Wilderness Road, which were used by settlers heading west. Several buildings from the period remain.
We explored the home of James Matten Early, a log cabin built in 1796. James was a tailor, and inside the house, a seamstress was waiting to tell us about the family and answer questions. Today, the cabin is covered in clapboard to protect the logs. You can enter the 228-year-old cabin and see the log construction.
Visiting children looked around wide-eyed at the inside, consisting of one room and a sleeping loft, and asked, “Is this it?” As they turned to the seamstress, they asked, “How did they live like that?” She explained how different life was 200 years ago and that they didn’t know about our modern conveniences. The children listened intently.
As an interpreter, I can attest to that, and I enjoy recreating the past. But could I live without all the modern technology and infrastructure we enjoy today? I want to say yes, and some of it perhaps, but certainly not everything. Then I thought about a typical day on a homestead in 1796…
All of my life would exist inside one room, most likely with a loft where older children slept and supplies were stored. Each day would be structured and centered on survival. Everyone would have a role to play. It would be a hard life, rising with the sun and working until sunset. Things would be much simpler, and in a way, it could be a rewarding life. Let’s look at a typical day.
Life follows the patterns of light, rising at dawn for the first chores, which included fetching water and rekindling the hearth fire. The cows would be milked, and eggs gathered. Breakfast was usually hearty and filling to get you through your morning’s labors. That might include porridge or cornbread, bacon, and eggs. Food was prepared from scratch from what you had on hand. While they ate, the plans for the work day were laid out.
Tasks were organized by age and gender, with younger and older children doing whatever chores they could. Men and older boys tended to the livestock, chopped wood, worked in the fields, cleared land, and planted crops. They were also the ones who went hunting and fishing.
Women and girls stayed closer to home and tended the garden, which was vital for food production and growing herbs and vegetables. Other tasks consisted of cleaning, cooking, spinning, sewing, baking, and preserving food for winter. Even younger children had responsibilities and did simple chores as they were able.
There was a midday lunch break. Lunch was typically a lighter meal, often leftovers from the evening before. It provided a chance for the workers to connect with each other before returning to their labor in the afternoon.
As the sun was setting, the livestock would be brought in for the night, and cows would be milked again. It was a time to finish or wrap up uncompleted tasks for the day. Dinner was the main meal, and the family always ate together. It was cooked over the hearth and consisted of stew, or meat if it was available, vegetables, which were almost always boiled, and freshly baked bread. While it may sound bland to our modern palates, any woman worth her salt grew herbs in her garden to provide flavor to her food.
After dinner, the hearth remained lit in the cabin, and it was family time. In most areas, there were no formal schools, and parents often taught their children to read in the evening while the mother and father sat mending clothing or fixing tools. If they had the luxury of a musical instrument, they may have entertainment. Or they may tell stories. It was time spent together to chat about their day.
As night fell, it was time to bank the fire for the night and crawl into bed.
In a way, this sounds so much simpler than the hustle-bustle lives we live today. And since I enjoy gardening, I can’t wait for spring to plant my garden here at our new house. But then I think about having all those children. Most families had 6-8 children, some many more. Women married young, giving them many years to bear children. Contraception methods were limited and unreliable. Child mortality rates were high. I love my two dearly, but two was enough for me. In the 18th century, however, extra hands were needed to maintain the homestead and to provide the basics to support life.
Travel, which I love, was limited to the distance one could go in a wagon or on horseback. Or even on foot!
So, could I do it? Maybe some of it, especially if that was all I knew. While I sometimes yearn for a simpler life, returning entirely to a lifestyle I was not born into would be tough.
I wonder what people 200 years from now would make of the way we live today.