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The Heritage of the Early Industry Earning a living in Western North Carolina. |
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The homesteads after being settled for a year or two, if they had good soil,
became self sustaining farms.
Any of the excess produce such as butter, eggs, hams was saved and sold or traded
to the city folks. They used the money to buy salt for curing hams, seeds for crops,
and if there was any left over they may buy a pair of shoes.
Among the livestock the farmers kept were horses for plowing and to ride to town on; cows to give milk which they drank or made into butter; hogs which provided meat that could be cured and fat that was used to make soap; chickens were kept for their daily supply of eggs and later for their meat; sometimes sheep were kept to provide wool for clothing and for their meat.
Almost all the farms had a spring on it and the farmers would build a small building over it known as the Spring House. A trough was constructed along one of the inside walls and the water from the spring was allowed to flow through it and pool. Since the water had just come from underground its temperature was usually a constant 50 degrees. The produce such as milk was placed in the cool water of the trough to keep it from spoiling especially in the summer. Usually the trough would have two or three sections of different depths from 4 inches to two feet which would help accomondate containers varying in size from canning jars up to 5 gallon milk barrels. The spring house was kept closed up so that the cool water would keep the heat out. Sometimes the youngsters would slip off and go to the spring house to escape the summer heat.
The farmers grew crops such as corn, sweet potatos, various grains, beans, melons
and pumpkins. Many of the plants and trees that grew wild around them provided much
of their diet included blackberries, raspberries, red haws, black haws, current grapes,
persimons, pawpaws, maypops, wild cherry, loctus, muscadines and apple trees. Other trees
that provided nuts were the pecans, walnuts, chinquapins, hickorys, oak acorns, and
chestnuts. The indians had shown the settlers which of the native plants were good to
eat.
 EDUCATION |
 TRANSPORTATION |
We will continually update our website as information is made available. Anyone wishing to add to or correct information on our website can contact John M. Cook, Jr at [email protected] or write to:
Cook Family History
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