Our wonderful costumed interpreter.
Hams curing inside the aging house. Some of these have been hanging in here for 2 years!
There was a little kitty inside every exhibit!
Inside the slave quarters. I don't know what that corn cob thing is hanging in the corner.
Slave quarters.
This is the Riddlebarger Farm. It was moved from Eagle Rock in Botetourt County (the county I live in) to the museum. I showed you the outside HERE
"By the 1850s, the Valley of Virginia was integrated into an expanding national market for agricultural and manufactured products. An improved road network was supplemented by water and rail transport that permitted Valley farmers and manufacturers to easily ship their products to eastern cities. In return, manufactured goods from Europe and other parts of the United States became available to Valley consumers, and Valley residents no longer had to make their own textiles and other necessities. Mass communication, in the form of newspapers and books, made Valley residents more aware of events and ideas from the outside world. In this environment, distinctions among the white descendants of Old World settlers declined and most embraced a common American culture and way of life.
While the descendents of colonists from England, Ireland, and Germany were creating a common American identity in the Valley with each generation, slavery and inequality was the legacy inherited by the descendents of African captives. Enslaved African Americans formed nearly 20% of the region’s population in 1850, which represented a small decline from 1820, though the actual number of Valley slaves increased over the thirty-year period. The number of free blacks in the Valley increased only slightly. Compared with Virginia east of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Valley slavery was modest in scope. Still, it was significant enough to be regarded with concern by some who thought it hindered the region’s economic progress, though most whites continued to support it."
Frontier Culture Museum
Rurality Wednesday
It must be fun to visit these places. :)
ReplyDeleteI think it's neat to visit these types of places too. Even though the difference between the lifestyles seem very great, if we look close enough we can see the similarities too.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing pictures and reading the history of life back in the 1800's.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing all of this interesting information, Tanya
The corn-cob thingy is to dry the ears for seeds next year... :)
ReplyDeleteLoved seeing inside -- just love these old structures. xo
I often wonder what it would be like to live this way - a lot of work, I imagine - but maybe in a good way. This was a fun look inside a different lifestyle!
ReplyDeleteit looks really quaint, but i bet it was drafty as can be...
ReplyDeleteThat's how we will have to live before too long, it is good to study how it was done.
ReplyDeleteSo cool! I love all the little tools hanging on the wall. And the kitty looks so much like my little Emma! Awww :)
ReplyDeleteAnother historic gem :). (Thanks for your good wishes. We are going to be okay. Hooray. I'll keep check in on you.)
ReplyDeleteGreat history here in your photos and wonderful shots ~ carol ^_^
ReplyDeleteSometimes that simplicity appeals to me, but then I look at my nice bathroom and modern kitchen and laundry room and I say no way! My Rurality: http://lauriekazmierczak.com
ReplyDeleteHow cool to see the inside! That would make a nice current day cabin!
ReplyDeleteAll of your wonderful posts and pictures make me want to go back to the Frontier Museum. When I taught 6th grade, we would take the children over every year, but I have not been back since. Love all the photos...your boys are sososo cute. I have had many commenters recognizing your header in my picture. Thought you would like to know that one. genie
ReplyDeleteNice pictures! I can't resist arguing with the generalization that whites continued to support slavery. Many did not, especially after several major churches came out strongly against it. I've run across several stories where congregations fractured over this issue, resulting in new churches for whichever group found themselves outvoted. In fact, large groups of folks who opposed slavery moved out of Virginia and went west to Ohio. (Wonder if they had stayed would they have voted against secession and thus kept Virginia in the Union?)
ReplyDeleteLove the shot of the kitty.
ReplyDeleteAnother great set of photos of a very historical place.
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