{"id":5594,"date":"2015-05-05T18:04:00","date_gmt":"2015-05-05T22:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/?p=5594"},"modified":"2023-06-29T23:50:02","modified_gmt":"2023-06-30T03:50:02","slug":"colonial-williamsburgtrade-crafts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/5594","title":{"rendered":"Colonial Williamsburg–Trade Crafts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part of the reason people traveled to the \u201cNew World\u201d was to make a better life for themselves. England was a tough place to live. It was over populated, sanitation was a huge problem and much of their resources were depleted.<\/p>\n

Plantations in Virginia took advantage of all of the open space and clean water. We visited the re-created Great Hopes Plantation just outside of Williamsburg. Most Virginians lived in the rural country side and their lives were centered around agriculture and raising live stock.<\/p>\n

Here is John\u2019s dream home. He was going to building me one, back when we thought we were going to settle down in Colorado. Cute huh? Think I\u2019ll stick with the RV.<\/p>\n

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Tobacco was the most important crop grown as it generated the money need to support the farm and its inhabitants. In addition to that crop, each farm had two vegetable gardens, one for the family and one for the slaves.<\/p>\n

We saw the farmer in the field prepping the ground for planting. He was more than happy to take a break and talk to us.<\/p>\n

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When asked how long it took him to plow a field of that size he told us about 4 hours. The ox gave me a look that said \u201cDon\u2019t you mean how long it takes US<\/u><\/em><\/strong>?\u201d That was our cue to move on.<\/p>\n

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We walked into town from the plantation following a serene footpath. Perfect for taking a couple of selfies!<\/p>\n

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Around town were all kinds of barrels, most hiding trash cans or collecting rain water.<\/p>\n

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It was implied that all of the stuff we saw in the town, was produced by town tradesmen, Therefore it stood to reason there should be a Cooper somewhere. Off to find him we were!<\/p>\n

He was working on a barrel and demonstrated some of his tools for us and walked us through how to make a barrel. (The big barrel in the back is for somewhere in town.)<\/p>\n

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The question was raised \u201cHow do you get the groove in the barrel that the top and bottom fit into?\u201d Using a croze cutter of course.  The cooper keeps turning this around the barrel and it chips away at the wood until he has a groove.<\/p>\n

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The colonist could not bring everything they needed and there wasn\u2019t a Sears store for them to order a house kit from so they needed to make much of what they needed. In town many structures were made from bricks not strictly from wood. Where did all of the bricks come from? The Brick Yard of course.<\/p>\n

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When we arrived there were several children churning dirt and water into the clay used to make the bricks. Normally this job is done by adults who are heavier and sink to the bottom getting a better mix.<\/p>\n

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After the clay is mixed it is put into models.<\/p>\n

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The molds hold two bricks and children carry these out to the drying fields.<\/p>\n

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In the fall when it is too cold for the bricks to dry properly, those that have been dried are piled and fires are built under them to finish the firing process.<\/p>\n

Bricks closest to the fire are the darkest red and those that are light tan to pink were far away from the fire.<\/p>\n

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The Brick Yard master would employ slaves to process the bricks as this was a non-skilled labor job.<\/p>\n

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Ok, so now you have your house of bricks built and the big bad wolf can\u2019t get you. Now we need some cabinetry to hold our dishes. Where could that cabinet maker be?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part of the reason people traveled to the \u201cNew World\u201d was to make a better life for themselves. England was a tough place to live. It was over populated, sanitation was a huge problem and much of their resources were depleted. Plantations in Virginia took advantage of all of the open space and clean water. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-container-style":"default","site-container-layout":"default","site-sidebar-layout":"default","disable-article-header":"default","disable-site-header":"default","disable-site-footer":"default","disable-content-area-spacing":"default","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[879,513,184,514,981,84,508,506],"class_list":["post-5594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-andy-and-candy","tag-brickyard","tag-cooper","tag-plantation","tag-sightseeing","tag-thousand-trails","tag-virginia","tag-williamsburg"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_5629_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3hvz5-1se","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5429,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/5429","url_meta":{"origin":5594,"position":0},"title":"Colonial Williamsburg","author":"Wendy","date":"May 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"John and I are a specific kind of history buffs. We aren\u2019t much into museums, we can\u2019t tell stories about historical events and there are very few dates in history we actually know. The history we do like is the kind we can experience. More of a hands on kind\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_5606_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C437&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_5606_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C437&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_5606_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C437&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5666,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/5666","url_meta":{"origin":5594,"position":1},"title":"Off To Yorktown and Victory!!","author":"Wendy","date":"May 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Our last afternoon in Williamsburg found us wandering the streets trying taking in the atmosphere of the town. Large open fields dot the town. This is where the carriage horses lounge about on their off hours. And passers-by like us can take a moment to watch them and if they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_5802_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_5802_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_5802_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5396,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/5396","url_meta":{"origin":5594,"position":2},"title":"Outdoor World, Williamsburg, VA","author":"Wendy","date":"May 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"We left Rutledge lake Wednesday morning April 22 and arrived at our new campground late that afternoon. Once we were snuggled in our spot we propped our feet up and relaxed. John had been working really hard everyday at Rutledge and just wanted to do nothing for a while. We\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6032_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6032_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6032_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5558,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/5558","url_meta":{"origin":5594,"position":3},"title":"Colonial Williamsburg–Miscellaneous Stuff","author":"Wendy","date":"May 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"We were all a little thirsty after all of our fun in the Governor\u2019s Palace Gardens so we stop by the corner pharmacy, McKenzie Apothecary. Just like the pharmacy in our time, this is where the colonist would come to seek a remedy for what ailed them. There were drawers\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_5717a_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_5717a_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_5717a_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5461,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/5461","url_meta":{"origin":5594,"position":4},"title":"Williamsburg VA, Travel in the 1700’s","author":"Wendy","date":"May 4, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"After narrowly escaping recruitment into General George Washington\u2019s army we stopped by Wetherburn\u2019s Tavern. In the 1700\u2019s women didn\u2019t travel much, and if they did generally they stayed with family and friends in the area. The men stayed in taverns that reminded me a bit of a college dorm. Multiple\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_5576_thumb2_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_5576_thumb2_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_5576_thumb2_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5503,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/5503","url_meta":{"origin":5594,"position":5},"title":"Colonial Williamsburg–The Governor Fled","author":"Wendy","date":"May 4, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Each day in Colonial Williamsburg VA different parts of America\u2019s story is told. You can follow it start to finish over several days or just jump in on the parts you are interested. We ended the previous day\u2019s activities with the recruitment effort. Next we heard about uprisings over gunpowder\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_5749_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_5749_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_5749_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5594"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5594\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14354,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5594\/revisions\/14354"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}