The farm as you see it today is the end product of more than a century of cutting down trees, pulling stumps, turning the soil, growing crops, splitting rails, building fences and erecting buildings.

The farm lane has been in the same place since when the trees were first felled. It continued past the farmhouse and over the hill to the neighbor's home. It was fenced with a snaked rail fence of chestnut like the one along it now. To have fenced the entire 275 acres would have required over 30,000 rails.

The farm was first settled in the early 1820s. Using Dendrochronology, a method for dating logs by measuring and comparing tree rings, we have been able to determine that the logs for the original settlers cabin were probably cut in the winters of 1820 and 1821. In 1822 these were used to build a log cabin. Samples were taken from the original logs which can still be seen in a closet under the stairs.

1890 Farmhouse: This building evolved through at least four stages. it started as a 1 1/2 story log cabin, had a kitchen added to the rear, then a frame addition on the west end with a two-room second floor. Next, the kitchen was replaced with a dining room and a new kitchen was added. Last added was the two-story front porch with an upstairs entrance. This building has been restored to its 1890s appearance based on first hand accounts, and photographic evidence.

Granary: This building had five large bins used to store grains. Oats and barley were for livestock. Buckwheat and and wheat kept till taken to the local mill and ground into flour for the family's use. Flax and flax working tools are stored here. A small Town Wagon- "the family car," and the big Farm Wagon are in the shed.

Root Cellar: This building had dirt against three walls, sawdust insulation above and a heavy door that keeps the inside above freezing. Fruits and root vegetables, sauerkraut and canned food were stored here.

Wood-house and Meat-house: Wood was the fuel for heating and cooking, so a large supply was always stored here along with the saws, axes, and other tools used.
The meat-house, commonly called the smokehouse although no smoke curing was done here, stored salt-cured pork, mostly hams, shoulders, bacon and fatback. It was the only building besides the farmhouse with a lock.

Wash House: This housed the galvanized tubs, washboards, buckets, boiling kettle, saps, homemade and store bought, lye, bluing, bleach and clothespins used to do the laundry. Water was carried from the branch or the well. The wash was done outside except in cold weather, and hung on a line in the yard to dry.

Privy: Inside plumbing had to wait another 50 years to be common in this area, so the outhouse was a necessity. This one is not original to the site. The original one was a two seater with windows. Apparantly the owners did not mind sharing their more intimate moments. For night and bad weather, a chamber-pot was under each bed.

Well-house: Surprisingly, this farm did not have a spring, but had a well-house with a 35-foot deep well lined with field rock. It was used like a spring-house with a concrete trough used to keep dairy goods cool by pumping cold well-water into it frequently. Milking was done in the morning and evening and milk was brought here for straining and storage in crocks.

Corn Crib and Farm Shop: The section of the building with 3-inch slats with space between is the corn crib which stored about 300 bushels of corn. There's another at the barn. This was the main livestock feed.

Many hand tools like mattocks, scythes, axes, and hoes are stored here. Every farm required a shop to repair and maintain its equipment. This shop has the facilities to make or repair gear made of wood, leather, or metal.

Chicken Lot and House: Poultry care was usually the housewife's chore. Feeding the chickens and gathering eggs were a daily routine. Surplus eggs and butter were her source of spending money. Also, whenever company popped in, dinner was just a wrung neck away. Varmints like possums, hawks, weasels, foxes and snakes were always after hens, chicks, or eggs.

Barn: This building housed livestock in the winter, with seven stalls, and stored the tons of hay, the primary winter feed, in its loft. The manure that accumulated in the stalls during the winter was hauled to the fields as fertilizer in the spring. A 100 year old threshing machine is in the back shed.