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The first seven paragraphs discuss the colonial era.

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For thousands of years before the arrival of European colonists, Native Americans relied on hunting for nourishment, clothing, tools, and trade goods. While indigenous women were primarily responsible for agriculture and housekeeping, the men generally busied themselves with hunting and warfare. This division of labor was criticized by many early European observers, who believed hunting to be an activity of the leisure class, and viewed Native American men as lazy. However, this European ideal of the "hunter-aristocrat" quickly changed colonists as settled the New World.

European settlers soon came to value wild animals for their meat, hides, and furs. Though the meat and skin were the most prized products of the hunt, settlers found a variety of uses for the remaining parts of the animals. Animal fat could be rendered to make candles, lye, and grease. Brains were used as tanning agents, and feathers became stuffing for pillows and mattresses, and for writing quills.

Colonial hunting laws were fairly liberal, and rarely enforced, so wildlife quickly declined around European settlements, as Native American, European, and enslaved African hunters all pursued game. Concerns about the decrease in the animal population encouraged many colonies to reassess their hunting laws. Several colonies prohibited the most destructive practices, such as ring-fire hunting and night hunting by firelight.

Ring-fire hunting was a group effort, begun by setting fire around a large stretch of woods, to a width of up to five miles. The fire drove game to a small group of hunters stationed at the center of the ring, and the panicked prey were ambushed as they fled the flames. Eighteenth century explorer John Lawson witnessed Native Americans using this method in 1709:

"Thus they go and fire the Woods for many Miles, and drive the Deer and other Game into small Necks of Land and Isthmuses where they kill and destroy what they please."

- Lawson's History of North Carolina by John Lawson

Ring-fire hunting was not without danger, as hunters were known to accidentally shoot one another in the chaos and confusion. Nevertheless, it played an important role in the reproduction cycle of certain forest ecosystems, in particular that of the longleaf pine. This species, which once dominated Southern forests, is a fire-climax community, resistant to and dependent upon fire. It is thought that the land-use practices of Native Americans helped to shape longleaf pine ecology.

Night hunting by firelight was less destructive than ring-fire hunting, but it also met with criticism. This method, which resembles the modern practice of "spotlighting," took place at night and involved two hunters. One - usually a slave - carried a skillet of glowing embers, while the other walked in front watching for reflections from animals' eyes. Animals caught in the light became transfixed, providing the hunter with an easy shot. This method was condemned because, in the darkness, hunters occasionally mistook livestock for wild game.

In an attempt to alleviate pressure on deer populations, Southern colonies prohibited hunting during the months when females carried and cared for their young. Virginia passed a deer season in 1730, and North Carolina followed suit in 1745. However, colonial governments lacked the resources to enforce these laws; most hunters ignored them and continued, unchecked, to provide for themselves and their families.

Ideas about hunting began to shift following the American Revolution, as traditional European concepts regarding hunting reemerged, placing greater emphasis on its recreational aspects. Many Southern elites relied on agriculture and slave labor to produce their wealth, and were able to hunt for amusement rather than from necessity. It was also during this period that the sporting press rose to prominence. Periodicals such as the Baltimore-based American Farmer , began providing "literate Southerners with 'authoritative' information about effective hunting methods and 'proper technique' (Bathed in Blood, 14). The sporting press became a medium through which wealthy white Southerners developed the image of the aristocrat-hunter, or the sportsman, as popular Southern icons.

A hunter's ability to provide his family with meat had traditionally signified masculinity. However, the hunter who obeyed the rules of sport rather than necessity embodied a new, polished notion of manliness that reflected class and wealth. These differing images created a divide between the aristocrats who hunted for recreation, and the poor, white backwoodsmen who lived in relative isolation and hunted out of necessity.

"Defined by their adherence to the rules of sport, sportsmen transformed the hunt from a convenient source of meat and hides into a rarefied form of recreation and public display. In time, the sportsman evolved into a paragon of a particularly Southern vision of white manhood."

- Bathed in Blood: Hunting and Mastery in the Old South by Nicolas W. Proctor

In an effort to distinguish themselves from poor whites and slaves, members of the Southern elite reevaluated previously acceptable hunting methods, such as baiting the ground with corn or setting out salt licks, and shooting sitting wildfowl. Instead of firing at birds whenever possible, for example, they would only shoot birds "on wing," and only with a shotgun. Yeoman whites and slaves who depended on game for subsistence or income rarely shot birds in flight. Many of these individuals hunted with rifles, which were more versatile and required less shot and powder, making them a cheaper alternative to the shotgun. It was a challenge to shoot a flying bird with a shotgun, but it was nearly impossible to bring down a bird "on wing" with a rifle.

Although many wealthy Southerners complained about the hunting habits of poor whites, others valued them for their knowledge of the land and wild game. Not only did these yeomen make effective hunting guides, they also served as slave patrols. This tradition of utilizing the ability of the backwoodsmen carried into the twentieth century. Bernard Baruch, for example, employed the Caines brothers, longtime white residents of the Waccamaw Neck, as hunting guides, after he caught them poaching on his property.

"When I took over the plantation two of the Cains (sic) brothers, Bob and Pluty, came to work for me as guides. Ball and Hucks continued to poach. One morning I spotted Hucks on my land, not a half mile from where I was. I caught him with 166 ducks. I confronted him sternly but wound up asking if he would work for me instead of poach on me."

- Baruch: My Own Story by Bernard Baruch

The Caines Brothers at Hobcaw Barony from Between the Waters on Vimeo.

The depletion of game continued as hunters ignored colonial hunting laws. Advances in firearms made hunting easier and more efficient, and the development of the steam engine and the steam boat allowed for quick transport to wildlife-rich rural areas. These stressors, combined with the environmental impact of increased settlement upon habitat, accelerated the exhaustion of wild game.

Most colonial whites preferred hunting bear and deer, but as these animals declined, hunters made the slow shift to smaller animals such as wild bird, fox, lynx, and racoon. As these species also became depleted, some wealthy landowners sought to preserve game by transforming their land holdings into private game reserves or hunt clubs. These conservation efforts had limited success, as it was difficult to prevent poachers from trespassing, and over-hunting of wild game continued. It remained relatively unchecked until the passage of federal restrictions on taking wildlife in the early decades of the twentieth century.

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The Culture and Tradition of Hunting in the American South: Hunting in the Antebellum South (Part I)

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For thousands of years before the arrival of European colonists, Native Americans relied on hunting for nourishment, clothing, tools, and trade goods. While indigenous women were primarily responsible for agriculture and housekeeping, the men generally busied themselves with hunting and warfare. This division of labor was criticized by many early European observers, who believed hunting...

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FOOD FROM FOREST AND SEA from Home Life in Colonial Days, by Alice Morse Earle, 1898 Though all the early explorers and travellers came to America eager to find precious and useful metals, they did not discover wealth and prosperity […]

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"Boil a pot of water, according to the quantity you wish to make, and then stir in the meal till it becomes quite thick, stirring all the time to keep out the lumps, season with salt, and eat it with milk or molasses."
Hasty pudding was another food that gained popularity in colonial America because of its inexpensiveness. An American cookbook published in 1724 describes it as "cheap and very acceptable." Puddings were both frugal and filling and were especially a favorite because of its short cook time. It also didn't need to be wrapped in cloth like other puddings, just boiled in a pan. Gulielma Penn, wife of the Province of Pennsylvania founder, William Penn, even included a hasty pudding recipe in her family's cookbook in 1702.

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"Boil a pot of water, according to the quantity you wish to make, and then stir in the meal till it becomes quite thick, stirring all the time to keep out the lumps, season with salt, and eat it with milk or molasses."

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Kids learn about women's clothing during Colonial America including the gown, petticoats, shift, stay, shoes, ruffles, cloak, apron, mob caps, hair styles, and hats.

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Kids learn about men's clothing during Colonial America including the waistcoat, cravat, breeches, shoes, stockings, shirt, cloak, banyan, hair styles, tricorn hats, and wigs.

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Shipbuilding was an important enterprise in Colonial America and quickly grew into one of the most thriving industries of our young United States. East coast settlements as well as those in Philadelphia and New Hampshire provided protected harbors and bays, small coves and riverbanks, all suitable for construction. Dense forests provided the necessary raw materials.

The simple shallops of the Pilgrim era soon diversified into small utility craft for local work and smaller boats for fishing and for transporting people and goods among the colonies. At the turn of the eighteen century, a small sloop typically weighed about 35 tons, but by century's end, experienced shipbuilders had begun contracting heartier seagoing vessels of up to 200 or more tons.The need for vessels increased and soon every seaport on the Atlantic coast was constructing wooden ships.Timber grew scarce in England, and it became cheaper to purchase vessels built in the colonies.Before the American Revolution, about one-third of the British merchant fleet had been built in America.

The production of these vessels required the skills of various tradesmen and industries, beginning with the Shipwright who drafted the design and directed the craftsmen in their work.A great number of shipwrights were born with shipbuilding in their blood.From an early age they received hands-on training in the family shipyard, many of these yards having been passed down from generation to generation.Others honed their skills through an apprenticeship. Ship design required a genius for mathematics and geometry with its countless calculations.A shipwright had to assure the ship would float, taking into account the hull's volume and height.He strove to increase the vessel's forward motion while carrying a maximum amount of cargo.And he must have a talent for drawing and drafting to create the life-sized patterns the builders would follow. Although it took about 20-30 craftsmen and able-bodied workers to complete a vessel, it was the master shipwright who remained in control.

Once plans had been drawn,
Sawyers were hired, also known as "saw gangs."These men were sent to chop down oak and pine timbers to match the drawing's measurements.They cut the wood to the pattern's size and seasoned the planks. White pine made for the choicest masts, while yellow pine was best used for decks for its high resin content and resistance to sun and salt.Hackmatack roots were utilized for their naturally crooked growth.They fashioned the angular pieces and gave strength to "knees" which supported deck timbers and braces.

One of the oldest tools of ship construction was called an adze.It was a type of axe with a long-shaped blade and bore a slight curve near its handle. were skilled craftsmen employed in shaping and smoothing the timbers of wood.

The vessel's frame was built primarily of oak.-the vessel's backbone which consisted of a long, curved beam that ran along the bottom from bow to stern. drilled the holes and tarred hemp fibers. Carpenters laid the keel Joiners scarfed two pieces of wood together to fashion a solid beam the exact length of the keel. The vessel's ribs were next fastened to the keel, completing the vessel's framework.The ribs were covered with oak planks, steamed and softened to render them pliable and capable of being curved to assure a form fit.The planks were fastened with wooden pegs called trunnels or tree nails. Fasteners drove in the trunnels. Oakum Boys carried the pails of pitch.The seams and cracks around the trunnels would next be sealed with boiling pine tar to make them watertight. Finally, the hardened surfaces were scraped until smooth. Dubbers smoothed and planed the surfaces, and finally the Caulkers were called to drive oakum between the planks with a flat-edged caulking iron and mallet.Oakum was a pitch substance consisting of

Launchings were grand affairs.Businesses and schools closed for the day so the locals could come out to watch.Standing on the riverbank and supported by a huge cradle, the vessel would be held in place by a set of stocks resembling extremely wide railroad tracks.The owner would speak a few words to the crowd, then the minister would confer a blessing and a sponsor would be chosen to christen the ship by name. The restraints were cut away, the blocks removed, and the vessel inched down the greased stocks into the sea with a great splash. Music played and folks cheered, waving flags and partaking of the refreshments.

Once afloat, the vessel would be moored to a fitting dock where she would receive her finishing touches and the complex rigging required to support and control her sails.Additional a rtisans and tradesmen were hired for this work-windlass-makers, anchor smiths, carvers, sailmakers, blacksmiths, pumpmakers, sparmakers and ropemakers. With the combined the talents of so many laborers contributing to the extensive enterprise of building a wooden ship in colonial times, it is no wonder that launchings were celebrated by the entire town!

Lisa Norato is the author of Prize of My Heart, an inspirational seafaring historical from Bethany House. A life-long New Englander, Lisa lives in a historic village with homes and churches dating as far back as the eighteenth century.

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Shipbuilding was an important enterprise in Colonial America and quickly grew into one of the most thriving industries of our young United States. East coast settlements as well as those in Philadelphia and New Hampshire provided protected harbors and bays, small coves and riverbanks, all suitable for construction.

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Shipbuilding

Shipbuilding was an essential component in Colonial America and quickly grew into one of the growing industries of the young United States. In the colonial period, European nations were the economic powerhouses of the globe.

They significantly influence trade and commerce in both South and North America. While some areas in the colonies were rich in crops, other territories, particularly the ones located in New England, were not conducive to the development of Agriculture.

This was because the areas were susceptible to poor climatic conditions and have poorly developed soils.

Nevertheless, New England had excellent access to the Atlantic Ocean, which subsequently resulted in the development of thriving fishing industry to increase its shipbuilding market further.

The ideal placement of New England and the continuous demand present for water transport indicated that they were involved in the shipping industry as a function of their agricultural impotence, the development of a fishing
industry, and their locations.

On the other hand, east coast settlements in New Hampshire and Philadelphia also provided protected bays and harbors as well as riverbanks and small coves that were suitable for construction. More often than not, shipbuilders during the colonial period made use of raw materials found on dense forests to developed ships.

The first vessels built in the colonies were small craft that was designed to use for fishing and local travel. Sponsors of new territories distributed shipwrights from England to create ships as most colonists did not know anything about ship construction.

Even though most vessels of the early 17th century were miniature, a few larger ships were built to cater to individuals who want to cross the Atlantic. As the colonies expanded, the need for supplies from England and communication with the rest of the empire increased as the ships distributed unique exports to each colony.

Several old building sites rose to popularity, including New Haven and New London in Connecticut, Boston, and Salem in Massachusetts, and Newport, Rhode Island. While shipbuilding in the middle colonies experienced a momentary lag, the English builders were quick to establish the shipbuilding presence in New York City and Philadelphia by 1720.

Merchants in Britain and local ship owners represented an extensive market for colonial vessels. As stated on the Navigations Act of the 17th century, English merchants were only allowed to use American or English-built ships for trade.

By the dusk of the Revolutionary War, the colonial shipbuilding industry had a strong foothold in America. Although values are tough to determine because of the nature of available records, historians have calculated that Americans built at least one-third of British merchant ships at that time.

Fun and Interesting Facts about Shipbuilding in Colonial America

Americans were selling 18,000 tons of about 40,000 tons of vessel capacity to Britain each year during the colonial period.

The Shipwright is the individual who drafted the design and instructed the craftsmen while building the ship.

The city of Philadelphia, New York, and Boston remained the top shipbuilding sites during the period following the Revolution until the 19th century.

The building of massive shipyards in these cities also prompted some builders like Isaac Webb, Donald McKay, Stephen Smith, Christian Berg, and Henry Eckford to receive nationwide attention for their work.

While side-wheel steamboats began their operations on the East coast by the 1790s, their use did not become practical until the introduction of the designs made by Robert Fulton in 1807.Ships and vessels became profitable during the colonial period in America as timber grew scarce in England.

The Colonial era was often considered the golden age of Philadelphia shipbuilding with several shipbuilders developing and designing Atlantic brigantines and fast coastal ships.

The demand for merchant&#39;s vessels, particularly schooners, brigs, sloops, and scows, created a flurry of shipbuilding in the riverfront of Delaware in the early 17th century.

Q & A

Why did ships and vessels become profitable during the colonial period?
Vessels and ships were profitable in the Colonial period because of the lack of Timber
in England.

When was the Golden Age of Philadelphia shipbuilding?
The Golden Age of Philadelphia shipbuilding was in the colonial era.

What kind of ships were developed during the Golden Age of Philadelphia shipbuilding?
Several shipbuilders during the Golden Age of Philadelphia shipbuilding built fast coastal ships and Atlantic Brigantines.

When did the English establish the presence of shipbuilding in Philadelphia and New York City?
The shipbuilding industry was established in New York City and Philadelphia in 1720.

When did side-wheel steamboats become practical?
Side-wheel steamboats became practical in 1807.

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Shipbuilding was an essential component in Colonial America and quickly grew into one of the growing industries of the young United States. In the colonial period, European nations were the economic powerhouses of the globe. They significantly influence trade and commerce in both South and North America.

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Gunsmithing is a trade with a truly distinguished past. The first firearms date back to the 1200s; they were invented in China. This technology eventually made its way to Europe, and Italian craftsmen assembled that continent's first gun barrels. Now, during the Middle Ages, a professional needed to belong to a guild, which was a group of people with the same occupation. The gunsmithing trade was so new, though, that it didn't have its own guild for a long time. Therefore, gunsmiths started to join blacksmiths' guilds.

In medieval times, many national governments maintained large storehouses of weapons, and gunsmiths often labored near those sites. An example would be Italy's arsenal in the northern city of Brescia. Then, as the general public gradually became aware of the work that gunsmiths were doing, the trade gained recognition as a distinct career. Thus, around the mid-1400s, gunsmith guilds began to form. Among the first of those groups was one that originated in Suhl, Germany, in 1463.

Of course, being a gunsmith in those years demanded tremendous patience and knowledge. Indeed, making guns meant being proficient in several trades, woodworking and metalworking among them. It frequently took as long as 400 hours to produce a single gun, and apprentice gunsmiths toiled for many years before striking out on their own.

When it came to gun production, England lagged behind many other countries well into the 1500s. To rectify that situation, King Henry VIII began to ask leading gunsmiths from across the continent to live and work in London, and many of them eagerly accepted the invitation. Thus, gunsmiths such as Belgium's Peter Van Collen opened shops near the Tower of London, the site of Britain's royal stockpile of weapons, and they began to train British citizens in their craft.

Naturally, it wasn't long before this trade began to blossom in North America. Colonial gunsmiths mostly made rifles; the majority of handguns came from Great Britain. Those American craftsmen developed a unique firearm: the long rifle, which was also known as the Kentucky rifle and the Pennsylvania rifle. It featured an elongated barrel, which made it easier to shoot fast-moving prey from considerable distances. Plus, it was an economical weapon in that it used less blackpowder than traditional rifles. Unsurprisingly, it was a hit throughout the colonies.

Of course, American forces would soon win independence for their nation, and pioneers began to cross the vast continent in search of new places to live and farm. Gunsmiths were often called upon to furnish such brave families with guns and ammunition, and many of those professionals would also make money by repairing a wide range of items ― clocks, for example. Due to the high demand for gun production and repair, the industry flourished throughout the 1800s. Then, when the Confederacy seceded and the Civil War began, the Northern and Southern governments suddenly needed a great many rifles, and manufactures were swamped with orders.

The late 1800s and the 1900s saw a vast array of innovations in gun production. For example, automatic handguns began to appear in the 1890s, and the Browning Automatic Rifle premiered in 1918. Further, the Glock pistol, which was the first successful gun to be partially made of plastic, debuted in 1982. However, even as firearm manufacturing moved from small shops to large factories, gun enthusiasts still sought handmade and personalized weapons. For that reason, many gunsmiths who owned their own businesses ― people like Emil Koshollek and Alvin Linden ― prospered. In fact, such individuals continue to thrive, and many of them rely on respected institutions like the Colorado School of Trades for the latest gunsmith-related news and information.

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The History of Gunsmithing - Colorado School of Trades

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Gunsmithing is a trade with a truly distinguished past. The first firearms date back to the 1200s; they were invented in China. This technology eventually made its way to Europe, and Italian craftsmen assembled that continent's first gun barrels. Now, during the Middle Ages, a professional needed to belong to a guild, which was a [...]

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Colonial Williamsburg - Experience life in the 18th century at America’s largest outdoor history museum

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This page describes the role of the gunsmith in colonial America.

Gunsmith

Gunsmiths were Essential in Colonial America

Being a gunsmith in colonial America required several specialized skills in working with metal and wood. Apprenticeships for learning the trade could take up to seven years. Colonial gunsmiths mainly repaired guns, axes, and other metal tools because most firearms were imported from England because they were cheaper. In England, gunsmiths specialized in making one or two parts such as the barrel (the long tube through which the bullet passes), stock (the wooden part of the gun that serves as the grip and holds the firing mechanisms), or firelock (the firing mechanism). This kept production high and costs low and also marked the infancy stage of what came to be known as the assembly line system of production. In colonial America and England, most of the guns in existence were flintlocks. A flintlock was a piece of flint set in a moveable cock. When the trigger was pulled, the cock fell causing the flint to strike a piece of steel, creating sparks. The sparks would come in contact with the gunpowder which would ignite the main charge in the barrel. Guns were more important in colonial America than they are today in America. Colonists needed guns to hunt for their food, and if necessary, protect themselves from Native Americans (in frontier lands).

13 Colonies Artisans and Trades Articles and Activities

13 Colonies Artisans and Trades

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This page describes the role of the gunsmith in colonial America. Gunsmith Being a gunsmith in colonial America required several specialized skills in working with metal and wood. Apprenticeships for learning the trade could take up to seven years. Colonial gunsmiths mainly repaired guns, axes, and other metal tools because most firearms were imported from England because they were cheaper.

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Watch as our Engravers carry on the same tradition as engraver William Waddill did in late 18th-century Williamsburg.

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This page describes the role of the cooper in colonial America.

Coopers Made Barrels and Other Types of Containers

Coopers were tradesman who made casks, buckets, barrels, and containers for flour, gunpowder, tobacco, shipping, wine, milk, and other liquids. One kind of container, the hogshead, was used to ship huge quantities of tobacco from the colonies to England. Because the demand for containers was high, colonial coopers made millions of such containers every year. Although coopers are traditionally known for creating barrels (casks), it was actually the "tight cooper" who made them. Other coopers began specializing in making specific types of containers that they could mass produce quickly.

Making the Perfect Barrel

The construction of a barrel (more accurately called a cask) took skill, experience, and significant manual labor. It was very difficult to construct the perfect cask, with a bulging round center and with sides that taper inward toward both ends. Clear white oak staves (wooden planks for barrels) were split from the centers of mature trees. The tight cooper would then fashion the wooden parts with axes and knives before gathering them in a circular formation and securing them with iron rings. The staves were then heated to make them pliant (flexible) and pulled together with a special tool called a windlass. They were then banded with hickory hoops. Grooves were cut into lips that were formed to make sure the barrelheads fit tightly. Next, the lid was made. Finally, the cooper would cut a hole in the top and side and then fit the holes with plugs. This was done so people could see what was in the barrel.

The word cooper comes from the Middle English word "couper," which means tub or container.

13 Colonies Artisans and Trades Articles and Activities

13 Colonies Artisans and Trades

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This page describes the role of the cooper in colonial America. Coopers were tradesman who made casks, buckets, barrels, and containers for flour, gunpowder, tobacco, shipping, wine, milk, and other liquids. One kind of container, the hogshead, was used to ship huge quantities of tobacco from the colonies to England.

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Ancient trade

The art of coopering dates back centuries, and the basic trade has remained unchanged. Coopering requires skill, intelligence, and strength. The tools of the trade are often handed down for generations.

Coopers crafted casks which:

Held flour, gunpowder, tobacco, and other commodities

Served as shipping containers

Stored liquids from wine to milk

Many colonial coopers worked on plantations to produce the many hogsheads needed to ship tobacco from Virginia to Great Britain. Other coopers worked in towns like Williamsburg, turning staves and hoops into everything from butter churns to tubs. Large plantations often trained slaves in the trade. Coopers could also be found on military and merchant vessels, since casks were common aboard ships.

Finest casks held liquid

Today, coopers are often called "barrel makers," but a barrel is only one kind of cask, one made by what was known as a "tight cooper." Other casks included the firkin, kilderkin, hogshead, butt, rundlet, tierce, puncheon, and pipe. The tight cooper assembled clear white oak staves split from the dense center of a tree. He fit the staves one to another, and bound them with iron to make casks for liquids of all sorts.

A "slack cooper" built containers for such commodities as flour and tobacco. "White" coopering produced pails, churns, tubs, and dippers, often made of cedar or pine.

Casks, barrels, buckets, and pails found throughout Williamsburg

The coopers in the Historic Area shape their staves with broadaxes, planes, and drawknives, and then gather them in a circle secured by a ring. The gathered staves are heated over a small stove or cresset to make them pliant and the heated staves are then bent into shape. Hickory hoops hold them for banding. The trickiest step is cutting grooves inside the lips to fit the barrelheads tightly. Today, the results of the coopers' work can be seen throughout the Historic Area.

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colonial williamsburg family vacation packages

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The art of coopering dates back centuries, and the basic trade has remained unchanged. Coopering requires skill, intelligence, and strength. The tools of the trade are often handed down for generations.

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Colonial Sense: Society-Lifestyle: Signs of the Times: The Cooper

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In the antique industry, some of the more affordable pieces for a collector to start collecting are barrels, piggins, buckets, firkins, and butter churns. However, if collectors only knew the amount of time that is dedicated to each piece, there would be a greater appreciation to the value of such items. The colonial trade that makes barrels and various casks is known as a cooper.

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In a century when most structures were built from wood, no tradesmen were more useful than the carpenter and joiner. The main business of the colonial carpenter was to cut and join timber and board into sturdy wooden homes and shops. Joinery is one of the specializations of carpentry. As Williamsburg blossomed, the demand for new homes, shops, outbuildings stables, sheds, and their repair grew at a rapid pace.

Carpenters and Joiners built city of Williamsburg

The city was literally hammered together in the 1700s by men like Benjamin Powell, John Wheatley, James Morris, Christopher Ford, and dozens of other carpenters whose names appear on the ledgers of building trades customers. Much of the work was accomplished by slaves that such builders owned or hired. Large numbers of slaves - skilled and unskilled - helped construct the colonial capital. Carpenters were also hired to do repair work build additions to existing structures, or to make smokehouses, dairies, necessaries, and other outbuildings. Brick structures, too, required finishing work and routine maintenance.

The carpenter worked from a building's foundation to its roof ridge. He laid floors, chiseled mortise-and-tenon joints, framed walls, raised rafters, carved moldings, hung doors, and nailed weatherboard. Carpenters sometimes acquired building materials from less-skilled laborers, frequently using planks cut from logs by a sawyer and shingles made by slaves at a building site. A joiner would finish interiors by joining together pieces of wood and might work on door and window frames and staircases and other wood pieces within a house or building.

Common carpentry tools included:

Carpenters built with:

Colonial carpentry survives in original 18th-century buildings

Durable examples of the work of carpenters may be seen in Colonial Williamsburg's 88 original 18th-century buildings. None, perhaps, is finer than the Peyton Randolph House, where carpenters reconstructed the site's outbuildings. Currently, the Historic Trades carpenters are using 18th-century tools and techniques at the carpenter's yard and the joiners are located at the Joinery.

Learn more:

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colonial williamsburg family vacation packages

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In a century when most structures were built from wood, no tradesmen were more useful than the carpenter and joiner. The main business of the colonial carpenter was to cut and join timber and board into sturdy wooden homes and shops. Joinery is one of the specializations of carpentry.

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M.H. Dyer began her writing career as a staff writer at a community newspaper and is now a full-time commercial writer. She writes about a variety of topics, with a focus on sustainable, pesticide- and herbicide-free gardening. She is an Oregon State University Master Gardener and Master Naturalist and holds a Master of Fine Arts in creative nonfiction writing.

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The Life of a Colonial Blacksmith | Synonym

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Highly skilled, well-trained blacksmiths were held in the highest esteem during Colonial times. Hundreds of blacksmiths supplied and repaired tools, equipment, household goods and iron weapons. Their craftsmanship aided a growing population and laid the foundation for commerce in a new country.

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To modern eyes, the traditional pit saw looks like an instrument of punishment - a throwback to the physical drudgery of the preindustrial past and such tortuous devices as the poorhouse treadmill.

But in the hands of Colonial Williamsburg carpenters Jack Underwood and Matt Sanbury, it takes only a few strokes before they find their rhythm and their fearsome-looking 7-foot-long saw begins to snarl, slicing its way through a 6-inch oak slab at a rate that leaves many Historic Area visitors dumbfounded.

Stepping down a ladder into a newly completed saw pit, Underwood grips the adjustable bottom handle of the blade, while Sanbury climbs up to stand astride the timber, then pushes and pulls from the top.

Not much time passes before their muscles meld into the increasingly smooth and rapid movement of their ancient tool - resulting in an unexpected heavy and cadenced spray of sawdust even as the blade appears to float.

"You want the saw to be as weightless as possible," Underwood says, describing how he and Sanbury have learned through experience to move the saw in unison.

"So you try to find the sweet spot where gravity is doing most of the work - and you're just helping the saw."

Newly completed and commissioned under the cover of a new saw house, the saw pit is one of the most distinctive features of Colonial Williamsburg's relocated carpenters' yard, which recently moved to Botetourt Street after more than a dozen years at the Great Hopes Plantation interpretive site.

It's the same area where pioneering master house wright Roy Underhill erected a workshop with traditional methods more than 35 years ago, planting the seeds of a historical building program that has produced such high-profile Historic Area structures as the Anderson Blacksmith Shop and Public Armoury, an outbuilding complex behind the Peyton Randolph House and the Markethouse.

Many similar yards operated in 18th-century Williamsburg, where they left archaeological evidence of five saw pits, including four with roofs, master carpenter Garland Wood says.

So busy and well-developed was the operation conducted by builder James Wray, just north of what is now Merchants Square, that it boasted two saw pits and multiple sawyers.

"Wray owned more slaves than anybody else in Williamsburg but one - and most of them were skilled craftsmen," Wood says.

"He could run four teams of sawyers at the same time if he had to."

So essential was the trade to the founding of Jamestown in 1607 that archaeologists there have recovered fragments of blades with tooth patterns just like those found on fragments from Wray's Williamsburg yard.

So widespread and prevalent was the need for well-sawn timbers and boards in the pre-industrial age that at the Portmouth naval yard in 18th-century England, some 60 teams of sawyers answered the call to work each morning.

"A lot of people are dumbfounded when they see us using a pit saw today. It's disappeared in this country," Wood says.

"But in those days, there were sawyers everywhere, and if you saw them walking down the street you could tell which one was the pit man and which one was the top man because of the different muscles they used."

Reviving the art at Colonial Williamsburg took both time and determination when Underhill initiated the program in the early 1980s.

"We were terrible when we started out. I couldn't stay on a line to save my life," Wood says, describing a training regime in which the eager but inexperienced carpenters were virtually self-taught.

"It takes a least a month to learn when you don't have anybody telling you how. But we finally got it."

Of the two positions, the pit man is considered the somewhat easier job, though Sanbury shifted to the top after two frustrating days at the bottom.

Both men can help guide the saw as it moves, but the top man's bigger handle steers the most and is called the "tiller."

"The steering I end up doing is mostly done by twisting these handles," Sanbury says, "kind of like steering a bicycle."

Carefully plumbing the timber to be cut is essential to not only the regularity of the board but also ensuring that gravity pulls the teeth of the 10- to 12-pound blade squarely through the wood fibers.

Experienced sawyers learn quickly to push and pull with as much of their bodies as they can, too, and most good ones rock back and forth slightly as they work in order to enlist as many muscles as possible.

"It's not a super heavy saw. But it does take a lot of wind to saw all day," Wood says.

"We've talked to people from Jamaica who say they saw for 50 minutes, then take a 10-minute break before coming back all hopped on coffee. And they do it all day long."

Despite its virtual disappearance in America, so enduring is the pit saw in developing nations that pit saws are still produced today by such ancient firms as the Garlick Saw Co. of Sheffield, England.

"Thousands of people still do this for their livelihood," Underwood says, "and that's why we were able to buy this one 20 years ago."

Some of those old-school sawyers even visited the CW carpenters' yard, where they scrutinized the newly built saw house and saw pit.

"We've literally had guys come by and say our pit is too fancy," Wood says.

"But what we have here is what you would see with a workshop - and they do all their sawing in the woods."

Erickson can be reached by phone at 757-247-4783.

Mark St. John Erickson covers Hampton Roads history and museums for the Daily Press, where he's won 17 awards from the Virginia Press Association. Born in Portsmouth, he lived in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Yorktown and Williamsburg as well as overseas while growing up as the son of a Navy civil engineer. He graduated from York High School, the College of William and Mary and the University of Virginia and now lives with his wife and son in Hampton's Victoria Boulevard Historic District.

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Old-school saw pit a throwback in Colonial Williamsburg

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To modern eyes, the traditional pit saw looks like an instrument of punishment - a throwback to the physical drudgery of the preindustrial past and such tortuous devices as the poorhouse treadmill.

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Robert Wood

Along with the flood of Germanic farmers who entered the Port of Philadelphia during the 18 th and early 19 th centuries, there were tradesmen of all kinds who settled in country villages and served the surrounding farm families with their crafts. Skilled in their trades, part time and full time weavers, tailors, tanners, shoemakers, combmakers, hatmakers, smiths of all kinds, butchers, papermakers, clockmakers, bakers, and potters made life possible on the early farmsteads. It is the potters that are the subject of this week's column.

Perhaps more so than with any other trade, the potter was entirely responsible for his product, start to finish. The blacksmith, for example, did not smelt his own iron, nor the weaver raise his own flax; but the potter dug and prepared his clay, formed and fired his wares in his own kiln and usually retailed them directly to his customers. So necessary were the potters wares that he could sometimes sell out his entire kiln load in one day.

The book Stahl's Pottery of Powder Valley notes: "Apple butter season was a particularly busy time of the year. Charles would open the kiln at six o'clock in the morning and by eleven o'clock every pot was sold. The shop yard was lined with horse and wagon teams driven by merchants who were eager to replenish their apple butter crock supply. Isaac remarked to Guy Reinert, a local historian, 'So anxious were the storekeepers for crocks, that in order to hasten the unloading of the kiln after firing, the workers donned extra heavy gloves to enable them to carry out the still hot crocks from the kiln....'"

Clay, of course, was the potter's material, and it is with clay our story should start. Clay is highly variable and complex. It is composed of microscopic bits of weathered rock, and its characteristics depend on the rock from which it was eroded. Most of the clay here in the New Hanover region has weathered from shales and mudstones that have a good bit of iron in the form of ferric oxide; hence, they fire out a soft red of the well known Pennsylvania German red ware. Surface clay is usually waterborne and deposited in beds in the floodplains of streams and rivers.

Clay deposits a few hundred feet apart can have very different characteristics. Most of the streams and watercourses around here have clay deposits of one sort or another, and the best ones are free of sand and small stones. Local clay has significant organic matter and along with ubiquitous bacteria and such and can almost be seen as a living material. Indeed, clay "works" best if it is dug processed and then stored away for months or years. It emerges more plastic.

As it is shoveled from its bed, clay is lumpy and unworkable. To render it ready for the potter's wheel, clay needs to be sent through a grinder called a "mud mill" in the old days. Clay was rendered workable in this horse turned grinder consisting of a large heavy tub with a shaft fastened vertically to the center of the tub. A horizontal beam was hitched to a horse that walked round and round turning the shaft. On the shaft were blades that churned and mixed the clay. In more modern times a screw mixer called a pug mill does the same job.

The number of full and part time potteries working at one time or another in this region during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is unknown. three hundred is a conservative estimate, but fewer than ten potters ever signed their work. Bucks, Montgomery Berks and Lehigh Counties seemed to be the center of the pottery industry since they held the best and most diverse clay deposits.

The annual production numbered in the millions of pieces of all shapes and sizes. There were decorative whimsies, but what filled the kilns were common utilitarian wares: apple butter pots, milk and cream pots, pie plates, coffee pots, flower pots, bowls, plates, and baking pans of all types. The interior surfaces of household items were covered with a lead glaze that made them waterproof but also, unfortunately, somewhat toxic if they held acidic foods. Oxides of copper, iron, manganese, and cobalt were added to glazes to achieve color accents. The threat of lead poisoning was no idle danger as well known potter Charles Stahl died of lead poisoning in 1896 as a result of his glazing work.

There are virtually no primary documents recording formulas and details of glazing. Potters were descendants of the European guild system wherein "mysteries" of the craft were jealously guarded. Such things as glaze formulas and such were proprietary information and never written down. Indeed, Neiffer potter Jacob Meddinger would not even permit anyone in the room when he was mixing glazes.
Continued next week
Glazing, Colonial Potters, Part 2

As detailed in last week's column, there was probably no early tradesman who was, by necessity, more self reliant than the potter. He selected and dug his own clay, processed it, made his pots and other wares, glazed them with his own glazes, fired them in his kiln and finally sold much of his product directly from the kiln.

Montgomery, Berks, and Bucks Counties were the center of early pottery manufacture having a variety of easily worked clays that fired to a red, brown, or buff color depending on the amount of iron and other impurities they contained. Mostly plain, homely, utilitarian ware of everyday necessity, red ware vessels by the millions were produced in hundreds of full and part time potteries. The soil around every old homestead is salted with countless sherds that usually show clear or chocolate colored glazing sometimes with green embellishments on the interior surface of the vessel.

These fragments from a myriad of pie plates, glazed flower pots, cups, crocks, jugs, and jars are so similar that it is impossible to distinguish where they were made or even in which century.

The glaze compound was usually water and clay stirred to a creamy consistency with the addition of red lead as the flux which lowered the melting point of the clay in the glaze so as to form on the surface to which it was applied a clear waterproof coating of glass. The addition of a percentage of manganese, then called mangus, yielded a brown color; or copper oxide, known as vertigris, made green. These were the two most common colorants. Because the clay body is quite soft and does not combine with the hard glaze, the glaze is liable to craze and crack as the fired pot cools in the kiln. These cracks do not harm the piece.

To form a thin, clear waterproof coating, lead powder could be dusted from a cloth bag directly onto the wet clay of the pot. Sometimes pie plates and meat platters were first decorated by means of a slip pot. To form a plate, a lump of clay was rolled out with a rolling pin much in the manner of pie dough. Liquid glaze called slip was then trailed in wiggly lines onto the soft clay from hollow quills that protruded from the bottom of a small vessel that held the liquid. Once the slip decoration had hardened a little, it too was rolled so as to press the decoration down into the clay and so provide an even surface. (This detail is often overlooked, or unknown, to modern potters). The leather hard clay is then draped over a mold and left to dry.

Rare exceptions to the common, local red ware are the highly decorated, incised sgraffito plates of the 18 th century. The first German immigrants brought the art of sgraffito and slip decoration with them even to the extent of using the tulip as a common motif. Using this method, the entire surface of the red clay plate was coated with a white or yellow slip. Then the design was "scratched" through the white coating to reveal the red clay beneath and the whole plate then was covered with a clear glaze. These were custom made presentation pieces usually having the recipient's name, the date, and a bit of text or poetry circling the rim.

At first antiquarians assumed these were imported until they realized the inscriptions were in Pennsylvania Dutch and not High German. One source writes: "Among the most elaborately decorated and inscribed earthernware of the Pennsylvania German settlements was that produced by one George Hiibner [Heebner] We do not know the exact site of his pottery, but it is believed to have been somewhere in the upper part of Montgomery County... [One source has him moving several times and one time living on a farm just behind the Schwenkfelder Library on property now owned by the Perkiomen School]. A large circular meat or vegetable dish shows in the center an incised device of a two headed bird, which at first sight might be mistaken for the royal double eagle of the German Empire, but it is in reality intended to represent a pair of doves with united bodies forming a single heart, typical of love and union. In the space above is the date of manufacture, 1786, while at the sides are large tulips and the initials of the maker, G.H. Around the rim is incised the following: 'Cadarina Kaederin Ihre Schiissel,/Aus der ehrt mit verstant/Macht der Haefner aller Hand. '" Translation: "Catherine Raeder, her dish, Out of earth with understanding [skill]/The potter makes everything."

"This is one of the most carefully executed examples of sgraffito ware which has come to light in Pennsylvania, the designs having been boldly carved through the layer of white slip into the red clay beneath, while splotches of dark green in the glaze relieve the monotony of red and white.
Return to Pennsylvania Germans of the Goschenhoppen Region

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The Colonial Potter Robert Wood Along with the flood of Germanic farmers who entered the Port of Philadelphia during the 18th and early 19th centuries, there were tradesmen of all kinds who settled in country villages and served the surrounding farm families with their crafts.

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Henry M. Miller, Maryland Heritage Scholar of Historic St. Mary’s City

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Who was Maryland’s First Colonial Potter? – Historic St. Mary’s City - A Museum of History & Archaeology at Maryland’s First Capital

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Pots have been made in Maryland for over two millennia by Maryland Indians. These were hand formed using local clays, strengthened by adding grit or broken up shell or other materials and sometimes decorated, sometimes not. We will never know … Who was Maryland’s First Colonial Potter? Read More »

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In the 1500s & 1600s, the millinery business involved shopkeepers who dealt in milanese (as in Milan, Italy) ware, like silks, ribbons, armor, swords & other Italian goods. Millinery, however, began to change its meaning as swords & armor fell out of fashion. The word also took on a new life as English retailing underwent a big shift in the mid-1600s. The Great Fire of London in 1655 had a lot to do with this change. Prior to the fire, trades were concentrated along certain streets. After the fire, trades intermingled in new shopping districts. Shopkeepers also began selling many goods & services in their stores, offering customers greater convenience & expanded choices. A milliner could carry possibly a thousand different goods, becoming the forerunner of the modern department store. At this point, the term "milliner" was tied to the Latin word "mille," meaning 1000. Milliners catered to the fashion needs of men, women, & children. In addition to being a trades-woman who made fashion accessories, the milliner was also a businesswoman who sold a wide range of fashionable imported goods. It was not uncommon for a milliner in the British American colonies, to advertise that she had just imported from London the very latest in mercery, haberdashery, jewelry, hosiery, shoes
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation tells us that prior to the American Revolution, millinery shops were almost always a woman's business. Women had a place in 18C British American commercial life. Those who reached their majority & were not married could own property, buy & sell, sue & be sued, represent themselves in court, make contracts & perform other routine commercial & legal functions. In short, they had all the rights of men, but they did not have the privileges of voting or holding public office.

"and other items too tedious to mention." The millinery sold fabric, baby & children's clothes, hats & shoes, dolls, jewelry, tea pots, sugar, needles, thread, laces, liquor, lottery & theatre tickets, ribbons, hair pieces, medicines, books, games, & much, much more. A millinery store owner also needed to know about fashion & the intricacies of the clothing business. A well-informed entrepreneur might know about sewing, tailoring, gown making, laundrying, ironing & making & maintaining fine lace.

Henry Robert Morland 18C Ironing A mantua-maker was responsible for draping, cutting, & sewing the gown. It was possible for a gown to be Clothing producers knew that one way to keep sales humming was to keep styles changing. Many British American colonists had an insatiable appetite for news, particularly fashion news, which reached America fairly quickly given the slow transportation of the day. In the early 1770s, Virginians learned about the latest styles through English newspapers & magazines. The news typically was 6 to 8 weeks old until it finally arrived from across the Atlantic, but it was welcome never-the-less.The whirl of fashion during the 1700s was endless & often contradictory. During the 18C, ladies' skirt styles changed five times. It was not unheard of for hat styles to change 17 times during a 2-year period.
The other primary 18C woman's trade was that of mantua making - or gown making. On occasion, the apprenticeship for milliners also included learning the skills of mantua making. Independent of a millinery shop, the gown maker was on par with the tailor - both were skilled in cutting, fitting, & sewing but usually were not able to sell fabric to their customers. In the 18C, fabric accounted for the largest part of the cost of clothing. Mantua-makers specialized in making women's gowns. Not only did milliners sell fabric straight from the bolt, they also employed or contracted with mantua makers who made dresses, jackets, & gowns for customers.

"gotten-up" in the very latest fashion from London with 3 half-hour fittings in 7 days. From fabric sold in the shop, milliners would make items such as: shirts, shifts, aprons, neckerchiefs, caps, cloaks, hoods, hats, muffs, ruffles, & trim for gowns. The cost of any clothing varied depending on the type of fabric that was chosen. A gown made from wool, silk, or cotton cost more than one made from linen. The cost for the labor was less expensive than the material involved. The fabric was usually 80%-90% of the cost of the gown.
"Solomon in all Glory was not array'd like on of These," wrote visitor Rev. Jonathan Boucher of upper class Virginians in 1759. "I assure you, Mrs. James, the common Planter's Daughters here go every Day in finer Cloaths than I have seen content you for a Summer's Sunday. You thought (homely Creatures as your are) my Sattin Wastecoat was a fine best, Lord help You, I'm noth'g amongst the Lace & Lac'd fellows that are here. Nay, so much does their Taste run after dress that they tell me I may see in Virginia more brilliant Assemblies than I ever c'd in the North of Engl'd, & except Royal Ones P'rhaps in any Part of it."

1787 A Milliner's Shop, Lewis Walpole Library

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In the 1500s & 1600s, the millinery business involved shopkeepers who dealt in milanese (as in Milan, Italy) ware, like silks, ribbons, armor, swords & other Italian goods. Millinery, however, began to change its meaning as swords & armor fell out of fashion.

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This page describes the role of the milliner in colonial America.

Making a Ball Gown at the Colonial Williamsburg Millinery Shop

The Only Businesses Typically Run by Women

A milliner's business was much like a modern-day clothing store. Here, men and women could shop for the day's fashionable clothes and accessories. Interestingly enough, a millinery was just about the only business in colonial times that could be owned and managed by a woman. A milliner sold a variety of things such as fabric, hats, ribbons, hair pieces, dolls, jewelry, lottery tickets, games, and medicines. Most of the items for sale were imported from England. In addition, milliners hired people called mantua makers, who would craft customized outfits, costumes, dresses, and jackets for women, and tailors who would perform similar duties for men.

13 Colonies Artisans and Trades Articles and Activities

13 Colonies Artisans and Trades

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This page describes the role of the milliner in colonial America. Making a Ball Gown at the Colonial Williamsburg Millinery Shop A milliner's business was much like a modern-day clothing store. Here, men and women could shop for the day's fashionable clothes and accessories.

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Master Betty Myers and journeywoman Debbie Turpin operated the Peruke and Wig Maker's shop when we visited. In the late eighteenth century, it was one of several similar businesses in Williamsburg. Owned originally by George Charlton, its services included shaving, measuring the pate, barbering, and wigmaking. In ascending order, hair prices ranged from the cheap-goat, yak, and horse-to the most expensive-human hair. Most wigmakers imported human hair from Europe, where young peasant women grew and then sold their hair for the trade. The shop also sold products for maintaining wigs and assisting with hair care. Hygiene was a pressing issue in the eighteenth century, and the wigmaker supplied unguents, powders, and remedies for body odors, dirty hair, lice, and other ailments. Both men and women used wigs. Some were dignified; others were playful and silly.

Woman's wig with frigate based on a print source; it is mounted on a wig stand.

Wigs required maintenance and good care. Many ladies and gentlemen owned wig stands for their wigs or kept them in boxes. Within limits, a skilled wigmaker could reshape the wig and color it to the client's specifications as fashions changed or the owner aged. For making wig dyes, workers used a variety of coloring agents from animal and vegetable sources to heavy metals such as lead, mercury and even arsenic. The latter were toxic to vermin.

The shop of the wigmaker was modest, but contained plenty of display wigs, showcasing the range of clientele these tradesmen might service. Although a great deal of the work of making wigs is done below stairs or away from the shop front, we were able to see the basic instruments and tools for producing the braided hair needed to construct the body of the wig. The tressing frame was portable; Betty referenced making wigs as easily on her couch at home as in the shop.

Erica ties knots of hair on a tressing frame.

The frame was constructed with a block of wood supporting two pins connected by three strings at either end. Using a diagram of the pattern, we took strands of hair and wove it on to the frame, using over-under motions to secure the hair onto the string. The pattern was outwardly simple, but the work took concentration so the hair didn't slip off or knot. Our next step would be taking the newly completed row of hair from the tressing frame and attaching it to netting pinned to the blockhead (a head-shaped block molded to the client's dimensions). Curling irons, dyes, powders, and pomades were the final components in dressing the wigs, much as a barber or hairdresser would curl and dress the hair on a person's head.

Wigmaking was a low-impact activity, requiring the maker to remain stationary for a long period of time. Although the repetitious movements might be fatiguing to beginners, Betty had tied so many knots over the years that she could work quickly without thinking about what she was doing. The mental energy went to making sure the wig was progressing at an even pace, and that the hair was plaited evenly and at the right length. The level of skill varied, I imagined, depending on the type of wig ordered, and quality of hair you were working with.

Betty is weaving a knot, teaching Willie and Jesse how to do it. Her blurred hands reflects the speed with which she works using the kinetic memory acquired from years of practice. Note the curling irons that were heated on the iron stove.

Demand was uneven. Wig maintenance, shaving, new commissions, and other sales work put a strain on one's schedule. Debbie demonstrated the technique of netting, the support structure that allowed the maker to stitch the hair onto a prepared cap. For us, making the netting proved to be far more challenging than plaiting the hair. This activity required considerable concentration. Because the wigmakers at Colonial Williamsburg previously ordered their nettings from separate sources before Betty and Debbie learned how to do it themselves, I assume it was a distinct sub trade in the colonial era as well.

With the ubiquity of wigs in the eighteenth century, it is no surprise that a day's work might include working on multiple models, with looming deadlines. Betty notes that a single wig could take up to a month or more to make, but with more staff working on multiple tressing frames, a wig in the eighteenth century might take a week. When possible or when worn frequently, wigs were maintained every week or two, and new wigs were generally made for a customer every four to five years. The implicit understanding was that these products had a limited shelf life that guaranteed the wigmaker would have repeat customers. Of course, this market also depended on wigs remaining in fashion.

"Life Below Stairs" is on view in Colonial Williamsburg's Museum Galleries; it shows a genre scene of servants dressing hair and primping to live above their station-much to the disgust of the washer woman on the right. (Courtesy, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)

Wigs were generally expensive products. In a period during which social roles were marked visually, wigs enabled a person to signal their wealth, occupation, and attention to fashion. This social signification made wig making an indispensable trade for some people. Extensions (or queues) were available for men who wished a less costly method of maintaining the fashions of the day, but families of great means might own multiple wigs, not only for the head of household but also for family and staff. A child's wig might cost 6-8 shillings, whereas a proper dress bob (suitable for landed gentry) cost 2 pounds, 3 shillings. Williamsburg boasted approximately eight peruke shops contemporaneous with Edward Charlton's.

Hair extensions for men and women.

Betty concluded her discussion by remarking that wigs and wigmaking are rarely included in museum culture, to the detriment of historians interested in the trades and fashions of the past. From liveried slaves to elite patrons of society, wigs contributed to the visual landscape of colonial American society. At Colonial Williamsburg, it became clear that wigmaking was one of the few colonial trades that existed predominantly for fashion rather than necessity. Currently, the tradespeople who continue this eighteenth century tradition find themselves at risk of losing the trade. Betty put the call out for interested parties who might like to begin an apprenticeship and continue wigmaking into the next generation.

By Erica Lome, Ph.D. Program in the History of American Civilization, University of Delaware

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The Wig Makers: Teaching the Historic Trades

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Master Betty Myers and journeywoman Debbie Turpin operated the Peruke and Wig Maker's shop when we visited. In the late eighteenth century, it was one of several similar businesses in Williamsburg. Owned originally by George Charlton, its services included shaving, measuring the pate, barbering, and wigmaking.

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6 Common Jobs in Colonial America | HISTORY

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From wigmakers to bartenders to newspaper printers, see how people living in the 13 colonies made a living.

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Discover craftsmanship in more than 20 trades, where modern-day practitioners use 18th-century tools and techniques to apprentice in - and eventually master - blacksmithing, woodworking or gunsmithing, just to name a few. These world-renowned experts not only make goods and provide services to our Historic Area, they also consult and produce for other cultural institutions around the world. Your admission ticket grants you access to the shops and yards. Visit, ask questions, and observe their mesmerizing work. You will not find a trades community with so many experts in one place anywhere else in the world.

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Discover craftsmanship in more than 20 trades, where modern-day practitioners use 18th-century tools and techniques to apprentice in - and eventually master - blacksmithing, woodworking or gunsmithing, just to name a few. These world-renowned experts not only make goods and provide services to our Historic Area, they also consult and produce for other cultural institutions around the world.

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Ark and Dove were the two ships that began the Maryland Colony. Ark was a 400-ton capacity cargo ship hired by Cecil Calvert to transport about 140 colonists and their equipment and supplies to Maryland. Dove was a much smaller 40-ton capacity cargo ship purchased by Cecil Calvert and investors so that the colonists would have their own ship to use once Ark had sailed for England.

The two ships set sail from the Isle of Wight on 22 November 1633. Three days later, on 25 March, a storm arose in the channel and Dove was seen flying distress lanterns at her masthead before she disappeared into the storm. Those aboard Ark assumed she had sunk in the storm. It was not until six weeks later that they discovered otherwise, when Dove arrived in Barbados and rejoined Ark.

The two ships arrived at Old Point Comfort on 24 February 1634, after a voyage of three months (of which 66 days were spent at sea). After spending a week at Old Point Comfort, they departed on 3 March to sail up the Chesapeake to the Potomac River, where they landed on St. Clements Island. They spent the rest of March exploring and negotiating with the Indians for a place to settle. On 25 March, Father Andrew White held a Mass of Thanksgiving to celebrate the purchase of 30 square miles of land on the East Bank of the St. Mary's River, and on 27 March the colonists departed St. Clements to occupy the land they had purchased, naming their settlement "St. Mary's."

At the end of May, Ark returned to England, leaving Dove behind to provide transportation for goods to be traded up and down the Atlantic seacoast. In the fall of 1634, Dove was sent north to Boston to trade corn for salt cod and other commodities. In August of 1635, Dove was sent back to England with furs and timber to trade. Dove was never seen again, probably lost at sea.

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Ark and Dove were the two ships that began the Maryland Colony. Ark was a 400-ton capacity cargo ship hired by Cecil Calvert to transport about 140 colonists and their equipment and supplies to Maryland.

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Native Americans of the Chesapeake Bay: Using Primary vs. Secondary Sources

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Native Americans of the Chesapeake Bay: Using Primary vs. Secondary Sources

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Primary sources about the Underground Railroad

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Primary sources about the Underground Railroad

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4th & 5th Grade - Underground Railroad: Resisting Slavery in Maryland - Introduction

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Exploring primary resources about the Chesapeake Bay

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Exploring primary resources about the Chesapeake Bay

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Introduction

Welcome to the How Did the Chesapeake Bay Shape Early Maryland Lesson

in the 4th & 5th grade Course!

During this lesson you will explore primary sources from the collections of the Maryland Center for History and Culture and answer important historical questions! Read instructions for each page as the lesson pages differentiate with questions, graphic organizers, maps and other additional information.

Students will four primary sources to identify where early Marylanders chose to settle and why.

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How Did the Chesapeake Bay Shape Early Maryland?

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Introduction During this lesson you will explore primary sources from the collections of the Maryland Center for History and Culture and answer important historical questions! Read instructions for each page as the lesson pages differentiate with questions, graphic organizers, maps and other additional information.

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Students made this website about Colonial Maryland

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Students made this website about Colonial Maryland

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Exploring Marylands Roots lets you explore colonial Maryland history through 12 interactive activities filled with text, narration, video, and sound effects. The site requires Macromedia Flash 6 or later.
Please choose your version:

High Bandwidth Version
For computers with faster connections, we recommend using the multimedia-rich version of the site.

Low Bandwidth Version
For computers with slower connections, weve created a version of the site that is less demanding on your link to the Internet, while letting you explore all the same activities.

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Exploring Marylands Roots lets you explore colonial Maryland history through 12 interactive activities filled with text, narration, video, and sound effects. The site requires Macromedia Flash 6 or later. Please choose your version: High Bandwidth Version For computers with faster connections, we recommend using the multimedia-rich version of the site.

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When it comes to history, the Old Line State is filled to the brim. From historic locations of bloody battles to the grounds that Maryland was founded on, there is no shortage of past treasures that made Maryland what it is today. If you're a history buff, these 13 historical landmarks in Maryland are a must-visit.

Atop of South Mountain you'll find the Washington Monument. This rustic stone tower was built in 1827 in honor of the memory of George Washington.
Click here for more information about this unique structure.

All lovers of local history should be sure to check out these locations. For without some of these historic spots, Maryland wouldn't be what it is today.

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13 Historical Landmarks You Absolutely Must Visit In Maryland

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When it comes to history, the Old Line State is filled to the brim. From historic locations of bloody battles to the grounds that Maryland was founded on, there is no shortage of past treasures that made Maryland what it is today. If you're a history buff, these 13 historical landmarks in Maryland are a must-visit.

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Brief overview of early Maryland history

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Brief overview of early Maryland history

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Good for starting a timeline

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Learn about the "First Marylanders" the birthplace and how Maryland became a colony.