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Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum
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A pioneer's first home was
usually made from logs.
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Did you know?
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The kitchen with its fireplace was probably the
most important room in the house. Often it was the only room in the house! |
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The floors were made of dirt. |
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Tables were made from planks and there were
benches or stools instead of chairs. |
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Sometimes the room was so crowded, the children
had to stand while they ate. |
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Bigger and better homes were made from planks of wood after a saw mill
was built. There might even be one bedroom for all the children to share!
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Click
HERE for more
details about the log cabin and the
later plank home.
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Pioneer Family Chores
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Young Boys
-feeding livestock
-gathering firewood
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Older Boys and Men
-making furniture
-building fences
-cutting down trees for lumber and clearing fields
-removing stones from fields
-ploughing
-planting
-sheep shearing
-fishing (at night for larger catches like muskellunge and eel)
-hunting (all seasons)
-harvesting crops
-threshing
-digging water well
-barn-raising and house building
-slaughtering livestock
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Young Girls
-feeding chickens
-washing dishes
-setting the table
-gathering greens (summer)
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Older Girls and Women
-salting meat
-making candles
-drying apples
-preparing and cooking food
-childcare
-gathering eggs
-carding and spinning wool
"From Wool to Yarn"
-planting
-milking
-making butter and cheese
-making ticks and mattresses for beds
-making blankets, quilts, and warm woollen clothes
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What did the pioneers eat?
There were no
grocery stores or supermarkets for the pioneers. They had to provide
food for themselves. They hunted and trapped animals, caught fish in
the rivers and lakes, and gathered herbs, roots and berries from the
forest. The rest of the food came from their fields, gardens and
farmyards. They grew fruits, vegetables, and grains and raised pigs,
cows, chickens, ducks, and goats.
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Year round
-salt pork
-potatoes
-corn and oat meal
-bread
-milk, cheese, and butter
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Spring & Summer
-fresh greens such as dandelion
leaves
-eggs
-maple syrup
-honey
-fish and eels
-fresh vegetables (grown in home gardens)
-squirrel
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Fall & Winter
-venison
-pigeons
-wild geese, partridge, chicken and turkeys
-hares
-preserved meat from livestock ( salt pork, sausages, smoked ham)
-dried apples
-root vegetables (carrots, onions, potatoes - stored in root cellar) |
Source; Markham Museum and Historic Village
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