Olliver Miller Homestead Adventure

This year we discovered the Oliver Miller Homestead.  The homestead is an old stone farmhouse originally built by the Miller family way back when Pennsylvania was largely nothing but wilderness.  The sons of Oliver Miller served in the Revolutionary War, the frontier Militia and were also involved in the Whiskey Rebellion.  This place is just full of history.  On this very property which we visited today the first shots of the whiskey rebellion were fired.  On this very land we stood today many years ago, was a dispute between the states of Pennsylvania and Virginia, both of which claimed the land as theirs.  If you are interested in learning more about the Miller family, you can visit the website: http://olivermiller.org/history/

Periodically throughout the year, historical festivals are held here and re-enactments are held and all sorts of glimpses into the past are presented.  We went to the Children's Harvest Festival.  It was a blast. 

 The Blacksmith: We visited the blacksmith and learned about the smithy work done on a homestead.  Here homesteaders made nails, horseshoes and tools.  We learned that wrought iron was very rare to work with at this time costing by todays standards $33.00 a pound.

The Tinsmith:  We learned about the role of a tinsmith (or just working with tin).  Beautifully tin-punched lanterns were definitely needed during the time period on ships and in barns and houses since electricity had not yet been discovered.  The kids were able to pick a piece of tin with a pre-made design and then punch it with a hammarlike tool (a piece of wood with a nail driven through it).

 Making Rope:  We learned how homesteaders twisted rope, by taking thinner threads, putting them on this thing-a-ma-jigger and turning the crank to make something much stronger and more durable for various uses (like handles for buckets).

 In the Barn:  We learned that...guess what? The homesteaders did not use nails to build this barn.  That would have been very costly.  Instead they used square wooden pegs in round holes.

 Sack Races:  While homesteading children had a lot of work to do they also got to play from time to time at get-togethers and barn raisings.  I'm not entirely sure when sack races were invented, but they had those here and it was a lot of fun.

 Giant Leaf Piles:  Kids really don't change that much throughout the decades. I guess all kids are drawn to a giant pile of leaves.

 Bobbing for Apples:  Again, I'm not sure exactly when apple bobbing was invented and I'm pretty sure I could google it, but they had apple bobbing at the Homestead today and it sure was a nostalgic nod to the past.

 The Springhouse:  We got to take a peek in the springhouse and see how this system of refrigeration worked since refrigerators had not yet been invented.  Ryan was pretty surprised and impressed by this concept I think.

 Period Clothing:  The boys thought they were above dressing in period clothing (breeches, stockings, cloaks,etc), although that was an option.  Instead they settled for wearing the tri-corner hats.

 Corn Bracelets:  One of the activities today was making a corn kernal bracelet. Dried corn kernals had been softened in water and then on a needle and sturdy thread the kid made corn bracelets.  It was explained to us that when the corn hardened again it would be very sturdy.

 Corn Cob Toss:  Kids had to get creative with what they had on the homestead and there was an abundance of corn.  So, one of the games we played was tossing a corn cob into a bucket.

 Corn-Meal:  Ryan learned how to make corn meal out of a small hollowed out tree log and pestle.  By the end of our activities we had done so much with our arms....those homesteaders must have been very strong!

 Quill Pens:  Ryan was able to experience writing with a quill pen and walnut ink.  There are many recipes for walnut ink floating around on the internet we were told today just in case we wanted to make our own.

 Shelling Corn:  Shelling corn by hand.  It was explained that the older and drier the corn, the stronger the whiskey.  Although, they used dried corn for many other purposes as well.

WhirliGigs:  Homestead children did not have much in the way of play-things.  They had to get creative.  One of the toys they played with was "whirligigs" decorated wheels of wood on strings.  The object was to get it to spin.  This was Ryan's favorite take-home craft by far. 

Church Babies: Way back in ye olden days, church was long and boring and kids had to sit very quietly.  The mothers would make their daughters little dolls out of scraps of cloth and when the dolls were dropped  by accident, they did not make any noise and the preacher did not get upset.  We got to make a very basic "church baby" doll by tying a knot in two sides of a square piece of cloth and wraping it around a cotton ball with a bit of string.  Ryan was not a huge and Dylan did not make one at all.  But I have no doubt we can find a cute cousin or Aunt to give this to around the holidays. 

This was a great family activity and oh, so educational.  Just in time for our next unit: The Colonial Days.  I am considering today a pre-field trip.