Greenbank Mill Civil War Day (Photo Heavy)

Last weekend I attended Greenbank Mill’s Civil War Day. 

This was a living history at Greenbank Mill located in Wilmington, Delaware . The weather was fantastic; it was warm but not hot and had a nice breeze. Dating back to the late 1600s, the land around the mill went through a variety of transformations from milling foodstuffs to wool processing to milling animal feed. This site, similar to the mill I visited a few weeks ago, used the Oliver Evans milling system, which used cups and chutes to make the milling process automatic. 

This event was equally enjoyable for reenactors and visitors. Reenactors were not told to simply “walk about and be Civil War people,” but given jobs that used their personal skills to an advantage. This arrangement was beneficial as reenactors spent the day doing something fun and visitors had many things to do.

The house contained an interesting and well-placed exhibit entitled “Household Heroes,” which demonstrated the home front aspect of the war.

  The millhouse had a variety of activities and mini-exhibits that pertained to the Sanitary Commission, an organization that aimed to help better the lives of the troops. These activities included, medicine, refreshments for soldiers, the making of medical supplies, embroidery, making poke sacks and knitting.  In camp, visitors could drill with the soldiers.

Visitors and reenactors alike took part in dancing period dances at a country-style dance and played baseball with period ball and rules. There was a lot for everyone to do but the day was relaxed and fun. 

The canopy above our camp.

I forgot to mention that we attended this event as (*gasp*): Yankees! :D

The Mill at Anselma: A fully functioning Colonial Mill

This post is a little late but I’ve been meaning to write something up about my visit to the Mill at Anselma a few weeks ago. This was actually the first that I had heard of this site and now that I have been there, I am really surprised. 

It is located in a beautiful part of Chester County, dotted with Amish farms and little shops. The weather was beautiful, sunny with a nice breeze.

The site was bustling with excited visitors but the site was serene with field stone buildings by the water, dating back to the 1700s. I typically don't take day trips alone, but this was a school function and was still fun.

Built in 1747, the mill was the area’s center of grain processing until the early 1900s. The millstones powered by a huge waterwheel and 18^th century technology. According to their website, "The Mill stands as the most intact, authentic example of a custom water-powered grain mill in the United States and has been so honored by the U.S. Department of Interior as a National Historic Landmark."

 

It’s incredible to see something like this in action. You would not believe how neat it is to see the wooden parts, and gears moving stones weighing thousands of pounds and grinding corn kernels into meal. This is one of those technologies that you know the theory of, but the real thing is just astounding. 
 

The Waterwheel

 In addition to the mill, you can see a spring house, houses and a barn as well as the mill run. It's really a very unique place to visit, especially if you like old tools and machinery. The mill also functioned as a saw mill, cider press and workshop.

The Millhouse

Milling was such a common thing in Colonial times. It really is special to get to see the inter-workings of a mill just as they would have been hundreds of years ago.Click here to read more about Colonial mills in Pennsylvania and to see a map of the over 200 mills in Colonial Chester County.

The Finished Product

Overall, the day was fantastic and the site was lovely. There was a lot there that you just can't see at any other historical sites.
 I was excited to learn that you can buy different kinds of flour, milled at the site, in their gift shop. They also had these really cute, baked good mixes sold in mason jars tied up with ribbons. I never would have thought of that, but what a cute gift idea!  


It really was a fun trip, and well worth it. If you go, make sure you go on a warm weekend when you can stop at Milky Way Farm and get an ice cream cone made from fresh milk from the farm’s dairy cows.

New Findings about the Lost Colony of Roanoke?

It's the week of finals and unfortunately, I haven't been doing much posting! I have a bunch of posts lined up some of them are half written, but my brain is being consumed by my finals and won't be available for my own use until next week. :D

But I did find this really cool article about the lost colony of Roanoke that I think merits sharing:

Drawn in invisible ink, is this the site of Walter Raleigh's lost colony?

Roanoke Colony was late 16th century attempt to establish a colony in the New World. The fort and colony are surrounded in mystery as it disappeared with few indications of what happened to the population. John White, an artist and later governor of the colony painted many detailed maps of the area but never indicated exactly where the fort was. Now it's been discovered that a flap on one of his maps covers a drawn fort.

Was this lozenge (the cartographer term for a fort on a map) a mistake? The real location of the fort? :D I can't wait to find out. People have been searching for it since its disappearance. Union soldiers even dug around the area during the Civil War. You can read about some of the location attempts here: America's Lost Colony.

Civil War Paper Bags

Today we are used to going to a store, having them bag out items and hand them to us. During the mid-1800s, You would go to the store, point out what you wanted and the clerk would hand it to you to put in your own bags, boxes and barrels brought from home. Some shops in the city would wrap up your parcel in paper and have it delivered to your home as a courtesy.

People complained of shop owners wrapping purchases in newspaper only to have the ink ruin their purchase but more expensive shops used plain or brown paper to prevent this. Newspaper covered parcels were considered low class and few wealthy ladies wanted to be seen carrying one.

In 1852 Francis Wolle patented a paper bag making machine but his bags weren't widely available until 1869, when he founded the Union Paper Bag Machine Company. Before that, if you wanted a paper bag, you'd have to make it yourself or rely on mass handmade bags that some products came in. Little paper bags were popular for holding seeds and tiny foodstuffs like raisins, dried herbs, small cakes, nuts ect. Thick, brown paper was common for paper bag making.

Making paper bags is a pretty simple endeavor. 

How to make paper bags, the 1850s way: 

 -Cut 1 piece of paper the size you want the final bag to be, adding an extra 1/2 inch on 3 sides. Cut a second piece without the extra 1/2 inch. 

-Put glue on the "extra" flaps of paper and place the smaller piece of paper on top of the larger one, making sure that the two top edges are even.

-Press down the side edges and allow a minute to dry.

-Glue the bottom flap and fold to the top, fold the flap over and let it dry. Once dry, fill it with your favorite goodies!




This is very low tech but one way they did it. These instructions were taken from the book Rollo's Vacation, where a girl is teaching her little brother how to make bags to keep seeds in. The book recommends powdered gum-arabic, which can still be purchased in art stores, but is very expensive. 

Happy Earth Day!

It's pretty rainy here, but I thought I'd put together a list of fun Earth friendly tutorials and websites! I can't wait to get started on the garden this year. I am scaling down this year. I am only going to grow herbs, a few tomato plants and leeks. Andy is going to grow a few tomatoes and corn in his garden. Neither of us have tried corn before but it should be fun. 

 Tutorials:

-Make Your Own Seed Bombs- This tutorial uses newspaper to make biodegradable seed "tokens." I'm thinking that this would be a really neat thing to use to trade heirloom seeds for herbs with friends.
-Vertical Gardens- Vertical gardening mixed with aquaponics. Garden inspiration to save space.
-Birdseed Wreath- Tutorial for a very cool wreath made from birdseed, gelatin and corn syrup.   
-Pea Trellis- Make a simple plant trellis with string and sticks. This website has a lot of garden projects and recipes. 
-12 Vertical Gardens- Very creative gardens, designed to save garden space.

Websites:

-Urban Homesteading: Heirloom skills for sustainable living
. This is the website and blog of the author of the book "Urban Homesteading." There is lots of useful information here, even if you don't buy her book.
-Growing Tomatoes- This website has a lot of good information on growing tomatoes. I have never had a lot of luck with tomatoes but this site is really helpful.    
-The Good Acre: Surviving Hard Times With a Family Garden: An account of victory gardens during WWII.
- Aspiring Homemaker- If you haven't been over to Mia's blog, her family is a homesteading inspiration.

Does anyone have any favorite websites, tutorials, or books on gardening, homesteading, self-sufficiency etc.? Please share!