HOW THE SETTLERS SURVIVED

FEEDING THE FAMILY AND THE ANIMALS

Homesteaders had to produce their own food. They planted gardens and picked wild berries. Fruits and vegetables were preserved by pickling or drying. Jams and jellies were made. Food was stored in a root cellar. Fruits and vegetables were also sold to the general store in exchange for other goods.

PREPARING AND STORING FOOD

Cows were raised for meat and for milk which was churned into butter or made into cheese. Chickens provided eggs and meat. Ducks, geese and pigs were also raised. Oxen or horses pulled plows and wagons.

FARM ANIMALS

Settlers also hunted deer, rabbits, wild ducks and prairie chickens, or caught fish.

When the settlers arrived they had to clear the land. Trees were chopped down and stumps were pulled out with a team of oxen. The first settlers used hand tools to clear the land, plant and harvest the crops.

Later a plow was used to work the land. The plow was pulled by oxen or horses. It took alot of hard work to produce a small crop. Wheat, barley, rye and oats were planted. There had to be enough to feed the animals in the winter.

TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

Most of the early settlers did not have many clothes. The settlers made their own clothing from woolen cloth and linen cloth.

MAKING CLOTH AND CLOTHING

Clothing made from wool or linen was not very colorful. The yarn or cloth could be dyed different colors by using bark, nuts, roots, leaves, flowers and berries to make the dye. Sometimes the yarn was dyed before it was woven into cloth. This was done so there could be more than one color in the woven cloth.

The long dresses that the women and girls wore were made of the "homespun cloth". An apron covered the dress.

CLOTHES FOR THE FAMILY

Clothing was also made from skins (hides) of animals like deer and rabbit. The skins were made into leather. Coats, shoes, hats and men's pants were some of the items made from leather.

Old wornout clothes were used for making patchwork quilts, or rugs for the floor.

LIGHTING THE HOME

At first candles were the only light that the settlers had, besides the light from the fireplace. Some candles were made from beeswax, but most were made from animal fat. Making candles was a messy job and it took a long time.