The Farm Report

The first full day of vacation was used in Staunton, Virginia, where we visited the Museum of American Frontier Culture. On the grounds there are three different European farms and one American farm. They want to showwhat the immigrants would have left behind, what farming ideals they would have brought with them, and how parts of their farms were put together to make up what we think of as an early American farm. The farms are authentic - they went to each country (England, Ireland and Germany), found old farms, took them apart and transported them to Virginia where they were rebuilt as part of the farm museum. The American farm was found in the next county, and its move should be seen in the near future as part of a National Geographic Special.
The first stop is at the English farm. We enjoyed walking through the house, and the kids liked trying out the beds. Their farm had a nice large kitchen garden near the sheep pen, where we saw new little lambs with their mothers.








The next stop was an Irish forge, where the blacksmith was making nails. A good blacksmith can make a nail a minute. It takes a lot of work, so you can understand why they were so expensive. Jamie found out that he could have been working as an apprentice already - boys began to work at the forge at age four.








A little way down the path we found the Scotch-Irish farm. The white-washed stone walls and thatched roof were refreshingly cool - good insulation against the warmth of the sun. The pigs greeted us as we walked up to the farm, and inside we found ladies working on spinning flax into linen. The second room held a few small beds and a large loom. It was not as spacious as the English farmhouse, and more people would have been living in it. The house would have been filled with peat smoke and the scent of unwashed bodies. I'm not sure I would have felt much loss at leaving that behind!








The third farm was German. It had two barns, much larger than at the English or Scotch-Irish farms. The farmer showed us through the kitchen garden and the wife told of the planned fresh salad for lunch. The greens were harvested from the garden, fresh oak leaf and spinach. The kids tried on wooden clogs and fed the chickens.











We had a short tram ride to the American farm, where we were not able to do as much. The end of the school year brings many classes to the farm for field trips, and there were many school children already involved in learning in that section. Not wanting to intrude, we simply walked around and viewed as much as possible.








Overall the farm museum was a nice day trip. The kids enjoyed the animals, we enjoyed the open space and quiet beauty of the farmland. The history was lived out well.
See more photos at my Picasaweb album.