Meet the Sheep: Bonnie Jane and Daisy

By: Allison Shelly, Farm Programs Intern

There is a tale from a long time ago that tells of a great naval battle. Homelands are to be protected and invaders to be pushed back. Ships crash against waves and fail to see the rocky shore line, breaking into pieces. The surviving crew swim desperately to shore avoiding the dangerous rocks, finally getting precious land under their legs. They struggle onto shore wet and bedraggled to a new life and a new home, a home that their descendants would grow up in and adapt to.

Who would think that this tale of great ships and shipwrecks would have anything to do with The Farmers’ Museum in the middle of beautiful New York, miles from the dangerous seas, but it does. For it was by the shores of Great Britain that the great Spanish Armada sailed up the English Channel to attack England, and it was there that the English successfully turned them away. But what of those wet crew members floundering onto shore? Why they were sheep of course! The might even be great great great ancestors of our very own Cheviot sheep, Daisy and Bonnie Jane.

Our two full grown Cheviot sheep, Bonnie Jane (left) and Daisy (right) relax in the field. 

There has long been speculation that Cheviot sheep could have been descendants of the sheep that may have escaped from ships in the Spanish Armada. The American Cheviot Sheep Society includes a brief history of the breed in one of their Flock books and they mention such a story. But they are not completely convinced, saying, “This tale, however, has also been given in explanation of the origin of yet other breeds, so that coming from the sea, we may accept it as somewhat fishy in flavor and quality.” Instead, they feel that the Cheviot’s had been living in the Cheviot Hills between England and Scotland for a long time and were originally called “long sheep”. Slowly the name changed to Cheviot sheep, after the Cheviot Hills where they lived.

Whether or not the origins of the Cheviot breed began with heroic sheep swimming ashore or by humbler means, the breed’s introduction to the United States is less mysterious. They arrived later than the Tunis, around 1838, and were imported right into the state of New York by Robert Young of Delaware County. More of the breed entered the United States in 1842, brought by George Lowe, and came to live not far from here in Hartwick. The breed spread into the southern counties of New York, especially our very own Otsego County.

Like the Tunis sheep, Cheviots are listed as a meat breed by the American Sheep Industry Association, but this does not mean that their wool is useless. In fact the historic American Cheviot Sheep Society found great pride in Cheviot wool, claiming that it has fewer oils in it than other sheep and, when washed clean, it is the whitest wool on any sheep. In fact even in the field you can identify the Cheviots by their very white wool.

A close up of Daisy (front left) and Bonnie Jane (front right), with our  Tunis sheep in the background.

Next time you visit the Lippitt Farm, see if you can tell the difference between our sheep. The Tunis has red or light brown legs and face with cream colored wool. The Cheviot has white wool and a white face with no wool on the legs. Any sheep that does not look like these two must be the sheep for the next post, the Delaine- Merinos! So come stop by; Bonnie Jane, Daisy and their lambs always love visitors! 

Meet the Sheep: Louise and Lillian

By: Allison Shelly, Farm Programs Intern

Over the past couple of months I have had the opportuity to be a Farm Programs Intern, and one of my favorite things to do is watch our sheep on the farm. While on hot days they lay in the shade keeping cool, on milder days you’ll find them lazily grazing, the lambs jumping and playing. Look closely and you might notice that the sheep in our flock don’t all look the same. In fact, there are three different breeds of sheep in our flock, and each has very distinctive features as well as a unique history.

The one breed that is perhaps the most obviously different from the others is the Tunis sheep. These sheep have reddish colored heads and legs with cream or white colored wool. When the lambs are young they have a reddish tinge all over, but as they grow their wool changes to the same creamy white color of their mothers. As with many animal breeds the Tunis sheep did not originate in the United States. They were transported from their home country of Tunisia in North Africa when the Consul to Tunisia sent a number of Tunis sheep (also called Barbary or Mountain Tunis sheep)  to the United States in 1799. It was a tough journey for the sheep, and only one pair survived. They were sent to Judge Richard Peters, who resided near Philadelphia. He soon became an advocate for these sheep, and the breed spread quickly through Pennsylvania, and up into New York, though the majority of the breed spread south down to South Carolina.

Lillian (on the right) and Louise (on the left) are the two Tunis sheep on our farmstead. In the middle is Louise's lamb, born this spring. This ewe lamb is a Tunis-Cheviot mix. Learn more about Cheviot's in the next sheep post!

It soon became apparent that the Tunis sheep were an excellent and  well-rounded breed, providing top quality mutton as well as decent wool. Tunis mutton dominated the Philadelphia market, and while Tunis wool was not as high quality as Merino wool, it often used to make blankets. Even Thomas Jefferson had a few Tunis imported and bred them for the quality of the meat as well as for the wool.

Tunis sheep are very hardy and can handle both hot and cold weather relatively well. This was one reason that the Tunis became one of the more popular sheep breeds to raise in southern states. During the Civil War the breed was nearly wiped out, eaten by hungry soliders on both sides. If it wasn’t for the actions of Maynard Spigener from South Carolina the breed may not have survived. He hid the last flock of Tunis sheep on his property by the Congoree River and managed to preserve the breed! Even today the Tunis are listed in the watch list of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, meaning that less than 2,500 Tunis sheep are registered in the United States. After the Civil War the breed was mostly found in the northern states, though recently the breed has been making a comeback in the southern states as well.

A close up of Louise and her ewe lamb. 

While the Tunis sheep may not have been one of the most popular sheep breeds to have an upstate New York farm in the 1840’s, it was one of the options a farmer would have had. This is why you can come out this summer to meet our two lovely Tunis ewes, Louise and Lillian as well as their quickly growing lambs! Maybe they’ll wander up to the fence so you can see, and appreciate this historic sheep breed.

Stay tuned for more information about the other sheep in our flock!    

Pumpkins for All: Part 2

By: Marieanne Coursen, Agricultural Interpreter

In part one I showed the three varieties of pumpkins we grew this year at the Lippitt Farmstead. In addition to making a wonderful pie ingredient, pumpkin is also a great food for our farm animals. To make it easier for them to eat, it is first chopped into bite-sized pieces. 

I offered the freshly chopped pumpkins to several of our animals at Lippitt Farmstead and got mixed results. The pigs of course ate them, but then, they will eat anything!

The turkeys were skeptical...

...the geese gave it a try...

...but in the end they were not interested.


The chickens, however, loved it!

Ollie, our Southdown sheep, remembered eating pumpkin in the past and dug right in.

The rest of the sheep were not impressed, but I have been feeding them pumpkin sprinkled with grain for several days and now they eat it right up. Animals tend to be neophobic and often hesitate to try new foods, but once they sample it with no bad results they are happy to add it to the menu.


Last but not least, Seraphina is a huge fan of pumpkin.

Of course this is only appropriate since you may recall from an earlier blog post, her namesake was also fond of pumpkin!

A Week Down on the Farm

By: Jenna Peterson, School and Farm Programs Intern

Have you ever wondered what it would be like growing up on a farm in 1845? The Down on the Farm Week-Long Experience gave a gaggle of five to seven year-olds the chance to find out. This program ran during the last week of June, 9:00am to 12:30pm. Each day was assigned a season to show the sixteen children how the changing weather impacted farm life. We began with year-round activities, followed by fall, winter, and spring, and ending with summer.

Like any day on the farm, the kids started out every morning doing chores with the farmers. They learned how to feed the chickens, to brush the cows and oxen, to gather both chicken and duck eggs, and how silly geese act when you let them out of the barn. Their favorite activity was learning all about what it takes to be a shepherd, especially “herding” the sheep into their pen every morning. This involved lining up, yelling “Good Day!” very loudly to get the sheep ready, and then following them as they ran to their pen. They also learned about shearing and even got to take home a little piece of wool.

Once the morning chores were done, we explored our seasonal themes. On Monday, we talked about things that would have been done all year, regardless of the weather. We made fritters over the hearth, got the chance to try on some period clothing, and had a lesson on etiquette before making some stops around the village. Tuesday was all about autumn. We got to practice some harvesting and food preservation techniques, and made cobweb chasers out of broom corn. We also took a ride on the carousel and visited the Country Fair tent. On Wednesday, we focused on wintertime. We got a special ride into town on the ox cart, and stayed busy visiting the pharmacy, the schoolhouse, the blacksmith, and the print shop. Thursday was focused on the spring. The kids got to do the bean baby activity that was done as a part of Museum Quest, and they all enjoyed wearing their seed necklaces. We also practiced weeding in the Lippitt kitchen garden and fed baby animals in the Children’s Barnyard.

Finally, Friday came around and it was time for summer. It was a very full day, but a good one. We got to watch the cow being milked, see the cheese that had been made in the Lippitt House, and then make our very own butter using small glass jars. Everyone got their own jar with a little cream, and they had to shake the jar while we practiced our patriotic songs for the parade later that day. Eventually, everyone’s cream turned to butter, and we got to taste it on some bread. It was voted better than the kind you buy in the store! Once the butter was done, we took a quick nature hike up on the hill behind the museum. There were lots of things to look at, and puddles to jump over! The rest of the day was devoted to getting ready for the Down on the Farm Independence Day Parade. There were banners for every season that needed to be colored, and sashes with their names on them to be assembled. Finally, we got in line behind the steer calves and paraded around town. We ended the parade, and the camp, with one final ride on the carousel.

For me, this experience was very special. When I was the same age as these kids, I attended the day camp at Living History Farms, a museum in Iowa that is similar to The Farmers’ Museum. Now, I am a graduate student in History Museum Studies, and I have no doubt that going to that camp is what started me on this journey. Being able to work with these children this week was incredibly rewarding, and I feel like part of my life has come full circle. We were thrilled to have the camp wrap-up successfully, but also a little sad to say goodbye to the kids that we had gotten to know so well. Hopefully, they will be back to visit the museum soon!



Poultry News at Lippitt Farmstead

By: Marieanne Coursen, Agricultural Interpreter

Here is a May update from Marieanne - stay tuned for a more recent update and pictures of the chicks next week!

It is May 15th and our Mama Hen is doing great. Eleven eggs were set under her on April 27th in the broody coop. Every day we let her out late in the morning. I always have to pick her up off the nest and push her out the door of the coop.

Once she is out, she has a regular routine. She scratches in the garden eating worms and insects, clucking constantly and puffing out her feathers like a typical broody hen. At some point she squawks and runs for a short distance, and she spends quite a bit of time dusting in the dirt.

Then she eats the food I have put out for her and drinks some water. I feed her a mix of whole grains – corn, barley, oats and wheat. I have looked in several poultry books from the 19th century and they all recommend feeding only whole grains to a broody hen although they don’t explain why. My guess is that she shouldn’t eat a diet that is formulated for laying hens since she isn’t laying eggs at this time; and I also think the whole grains go through her system more slowly which is probably a good thing since she only gets to eat once a day. Because she is eating whole grains it is particularly important that she has access to grit which is readily available in the garden in the form of small stones.

The first few days I had to herd her back into the coop after a half hour but soon she started going back on her own. As we get closer to hatch date she seems to stay out for a shorter time and she always goes back more quickly on cool day.

We found one of the eggs broken one day. I think it probably cracked when the hen was picked up to go out for the day because I heard the sound of 2 eggs clacking together and 2 days later we found the broken egg pushed out of the nest. So there are 10 eggs left that will hopefully hatch on Wednesday, May 18th. In other poultry news, our turkey hen has laid 9 eggs so far in the barrel we placed on its side in the turkey house. Another chicken hen is setting on 5 duck eggs. And we have added 8 goslings to the farm. They hatched on April 18th and arrived by mail on April 20th. With all this activity on the farm, I am finding it harder and harder to get away to the computer so we may have to rely on Facebook postings for a while for the new news from the farm or better yet, come see us for real and check out the latest farm happenings!

We’ve Got a Broody Biddy!

By: Marieanne Coursen, Agricultural Interpreter

One of our hens has been in a nest box in the chicken house every time I look in.  I tied a string to her leg to make sure it was indeed the same hen every time since they all look alike.  She definitely appears to be a broody hen, in other words she is done laying eggs for now and wants to “set” or sit on eggs until they hatch.  She has that “Do Not Disturb” look about her:

I placed 3 duck eggs under her to help her stay in the mood while I got the broody coop ready.  I used duck eggs because we collect the eggs from the nest boxes twice a day so it is easier to remember which eggs to leave alone should the broody hen be off the nest.

 Meanwhile the new broody coop was moved to the Lippitt garden. 

I left out the wood floor for now because the dampness of the ground is beneficial to the development of the eggs.  I chopped some straw nice and short and placed it in the coop.  If left long, the straw can get caught on the hen’s feet when she leaves the nest and she could drag the eggs out.  Then I hollowed out a spot in the back of the coop and placed three eggs in it.  The coop was ready.

The hen must be moved in the dark so that she is more likely to accept the new location.  This was rather inconvenient since I am not at work when it is dark but it just so happened that I would be in town last Wednesday evening for dinner.  So during the day on Wednesday I dusted Mama hen with Ectiban and that night she was quietly moved to her new location.  The Ectiban prevents lice and mites.  I sprinkled some in the nest also.  In 1845 sulphur was used for this purpose.   Chickens like to “dust” or lay in the dirt flapping their wings and rolling around to get the dirt down in their feathers and then shake themselves as their own prevention against parasites. 

Unfortunately I would not be back at work again until the following Tuesday, but the hen was in good hands with farmers Wayne and Rick while I was gone.  On Thursday Wayne let her out to eat, dust and exercise.  She did just that, but instead of going back in to the broody coop, she went back to the henhouse and her old nest box.  Wayne had to catch her and put her back in the coop.  He decided to leave her in there and put food and water in the coop until I got back. 

This was her probationary period to see if she was really going to stay devoted to the nest and her job as broody hen.  Today I am back at work and so I let her out again.  When I opened the roof of the coop she was sitting tight to the nest of eggs.  I had to chase her off so I would say she is definitely still in broody hen mode.  She spent about a half hour eating and dusting.  She almost went back to the nest on her own but in the end I had to catch her and put her back.  I would prefer that she go back on her own but it may take a few days for her to understand the routine.

She was fun to watch while she was out and about.  The had her tail feathers all fluffed up and she had an important, busy air about her, clucking the entire time.

So the plan is that tomorrow I will let her out about the same time again to eat and exercise.  While she is busy outside, I will replace the 3 eggs with the 11 eggs I want her to hatch.  Then the countdown will begin.  Everyday she will be let out of the coop at about the same time and I will make sure she doesn’t stay out more than a half hour – less time if it is really cold.  Stay tuned for updates on how it is going with Mama hen and her clutch of eggs!

Lippitt Farmstead in Winter: A New Experience for Jiggs and Buckwheat

By: Marieanne Coursen, Agricultural Interpreter

Our museum teachers include among their offerings, a tour based on the book, Ox Cart Man. 

I try to make sure I have Jiggs and Buckwheat, our team of oxen, hooked up to their cart when I know this tour is being given to enhance the children’s experience.  However, the book features a single ox pulling a cart, so it has been my hope for a long time to hook a single ox to a cart to go along with the story.  It looks like I will finally be able to make it happen.  This winter we bought a single ox yoke from Nathan Hine (www.thehinefamily.com) in Massachusetts.  After it arrived, I brought it to Pete, in our paint shop, and we selected an historical color blue. 

Next we needed a britchen.  We happened to have one that had been hanging in the barn for years.  The britchen is just a simple harness that is particularly helpful when using a single ox because it helps stabilize the yoke and also allows the ox to use his rump to hold the cart back on a hill or back it up by pushing into the britchen rather than using the back of his horns against the yoke.  We also needed to come up with a back pad with loops to hold the shafts of the cart up.  This we robbed from an old horse harness.  After lots of tweaking and hunting for bits of hardware and leather, Farmer Wayne and I were ready to do a test drive.  Jiggs was our guinea pig.  He is generally the more laid back of the two, so it seemed like a good idea to use him for our first try. 

He was a little nervous about these new sensations on new areas of his body, but he settled into it quickly.  So we headed out for a walk around the grounds.  

He did really well.  What was really interesting was how Jiggs responded when I asked him to back up.  Once he felt how it worked, he really seemed to like that he just had to lean back in the harness rather than push back with his head.  All in all, he did very well on his first solo.  Another day I will give Buckwheat a try.

This has been a fun winter project and it is great to add to the versatility of our team of oxen.  Besides complementing the Ox-cart Man tour, a single ox will be useful for cultivating the gardens where a team would be too wide and for other jobs where less power is required. 

Lippitt Farmstead in Winter: Cows

by: Marieanne Coursen, Agricultural Interpreter

The Marble Barn is home to our cows in the winter. Like Zeb, our horse, the cows spend their days outside where we feed them hay; then at night they come into the barn for more hay, some grain, and a nice bed of straw.

We keep two breeds of cattle, Milking Devons and Milking Shorthorns. Both were common breeds during the mid-19th century.

Begonia, a Milking Devon, is three and a half years old and has developed some very nice horns:

 She will be having her second calf this summer.  Her first calf was a bull who we castrated last fall.  He is growing into a fine beef steer:

Duchess, also a Milking Devon, is identified as a heifer because she is young and has not yet had a calf:

And then last - but not least - is Seraphina, our Milking Shorthorn.  Her dam is Daisy Mae and her granddam is Buttercup.  For those of you who have been here at chore time in the past, you may remember milking one or the other.  Someday Seraphina will be the cow that you come to milk, but for now she still has some growing up to do.  As you can see she is doing just that – she has gotten a bit taller since the blog post last summer when we showed her posing with Hugh McDougall, the winner of our naming contest.

She also had a mind of her own when we wanted to take the picture today and she dragged me all over the barnyard, but generally she is a very sweet heifer who enjoys attention.  She is my favorite!

Lippitt Farmstead in Winter: Sheep

By: Marieanne Coursen, Agricultural Interpreter
Our ewes have been entertaining a guest this winter. He arrived on December 4th.

He is a handsome Border Cheviot ram from Millers Cheviot Acres in New Berlin, New York.

During the breeding season, ewes come into heat approximately every 17 days. They will be in heat (in other words, receptive to the ram) for 24 to 36 hours. We are keeping the ram here until February 1st to allow ample opportunity for him to catch each of the ewes in heat and breed them.

Three of our ewes are exposed to the ram.  Daisy is a Border Cheviot, so any lambs she has will be pure Border Cheviot:

The other two, Ollie and Dancin’, are Southdowns so their lambs will be Cheviot/Southdown crosses:

Some shoot for the Easter market, so they want their lambs born in January and February to reach market weight by Easter.  These lambs are called hothouse lambs.  Other shepherds are more interested in taking advantage of lush pasture in summer, so they want lambs born in spring to sell as feeder or market lambs in the fall.  Our goal as a living history museum is to have our lambs born at a time appropriate to the 1800s, but also to share this precious time with our visitors.  Given the above information and the fact that gestation is 150 days you may want to plan a spring visit with us during lambing time – I’ll let you do the math.

Lippitt Farmstead in Winter - Zebediah

By: Marieanne Coursen, Agricultural Interpreter

Zebediah, or Zeb for short, is a major character in our depiction of a farm in the 19th century. He has been with us at The Farmers’ Museum for thirteen years and has become a favorite of staff and visitors alike. He and I share a birthdate, August 10th. He will be 17 years old this year and I will be – well never mind!


Winter on the farm is quiet and comfortable for Zeb. We occasionally hook him up to a sled and take him through his paces, but mostly he is on vacation. He has a spacious stall that he spends his nights in. We clean it every day and make a fresh bed of straw, put a new supply of hay in his manger, fresh water in a tub and a little bit of grain in his feed box.

During the day Zeb is outdoors. We make sure there is a hole in the ice so he can drink water from the pond.

He keeps track of goings-on and seems to find cross-country skiers gliding along the golf course especially interesting (or scary). He spends part of the day eating hay that we put out for him. Sometimes he is upside down:

Zeb always nickers when he hears us come into the barnyard in the morning. I like to think he enjoys our company along with our service. He gets occasional visits from other staff members this time of year, but I am sure he looks forward to the attention lavished on him every summer by our visitors.

Happy New Year from me and Zeb!

Mangel Wurzels

By: Marieanne Coursen, Agricultural Interpreter
This time of year our farm animals rely on feeds we have stored away for them. Horses, cows and sheep do occasionally paw through the snow to eat the grass underneath, but mostly they look to us for their sustenance. This usually means dry hay and grain, but in addition, the nineteenth century farmer often fed pumpkins, cabbage and root crops to the animals.

My favorite root crop grown for livestock is the mangel wurzel.

Mangel wurzels are a type of beet with a red or yellow root the shape of a large, fat carrot that sticks halfway out of the ground. The leaves can be fed fresh to the animals through the summer as long as they are not entirely removed until just before the roots are harvested. The roots are supposed to be able to grow as large as 2 to 3 feet long and 4 to 8 inches in diameter! The ones I have grown have never been more than about eighteen inches long and maybe five inches in diameter.

They are harvested in the fall and stored in an environment where they won’t dry out or freeze, either underground (in a simple hole or a root cellar) or in a protected heap on top of the ground, called a clamp. My mother told me that on the farm where she grew up in Germany, a small farm building had a cellar under it where all the root crops were stored, and she would have to go down and bring up baskets full to feed to the animals. In England it seems to be more common to store them in heaps above the ground.

The general rule is to wait until after Christmas to feed mangel wurzels. Apparently a change occurs in storage that makes the root less likely to cause scours (diarrhea). The watery, juicy nature of the root makes it very appealing to cows, sheep and horses, especially after eating dry hay for so long. We have a nifty chopper to break up the root and make it easier to eat.

Chickens enjoy them also and I like to hang one in their house for them to peck at:

I have tried storing the mangel wurzels two different ways. Here at the museum we dug a hole in the ground one fall and lined it with straw. We threw our mangel wurzels in and covered them with straw and dirt and a wood cover. In January, I dug them out and found they had kept very well. They were not frozen or rotten so this method was successful as far as quality went, but I did find it extremely inconvenient to get them out. This year I decided to try the “clamp” method. I was not completely confident it would work since it is colder here than in England but then again with global warming maybe it would be OK. This time it was at my home farm. In September I made a pile of my mangel wurzels on top of a bed of straw:

I also added rutabagas and turnips, and I covered the pile with straw and dirt. After heavy rains and colder than normal temperatures this fall, I thought my crop was doomed. Well, I am happy to say that I opened the end of my pile after Christmas and found the roots in good condition. The pile seemed to have a frozen skin on it of snow, dirt and straw that was not difficult to break through. I was able to get to the roots easily and close the clamp back up by putting the frozen clumps back over the hole. It seems to work like the “Ag-Bags” that farmers store silage in.

So far I have only found a couple of turnips that rotted and they were at the bottom. I have not gotten to the mangel wurzels yet since they are at the back of the pile, but I am optimistic that they will be fine.

Root crops have never been as popular in America as in Europe for a livestock feed. Most of the information to be found about root crops like mangel wurzels comes from England where they are unable to grow corn well. Nevertheless, root crops do make my life as a small farmer more interesting and satisfying, and hopefully the animals in my care enjoy the added variety to their diet.

Christmas and the Oxen

By: Marieanne Coursen, Agricultural Interpreter

When we think of Christmas the animals that usually come to mind are reindeer, but oxen play a part in the traditions of this holiday also.

In an article found in the Popular Educator, an educational magazine published by Harvard University in 1898, Ella M. Powers wrote:

“Fifty years ago in our own country, Christmas trees were rarely seen and the introduction of this Christmas custom is largely due to the Germans, for Germany is the home of the Christmas tree. The week before Christmas in 1851, a woodman of the Catskill mountains in New York filled two ox sleds with young shapely evergreen trees and drove over the rough snow-drifted roads to New York City. He selected a corner upon the sidewalk and here he displayed his choice Christmas goods from the woodland. The resinous aromatic odor attracted the passing crowds and eagerly the people purchased his sylvan bargains! He returned each year. This was the beginning of the Christmas sale of evergreens in America. Now those mountains of Rip Van Winkle’s long sleep furnish over two hundred thousand trees for the Christmas decorations. Other states furnish quantities and many a schooner laden with spruces from Maine may be seen in the harbors of our cities at the season of the Christmas festival.”

And this from a London journal in 1834: Singular Devonshire Customs on Christmas Eve

A superstitious notion prevails in the western parts of Devonshire that at twelve o’clock at night on Christmas Eve the oxen in their stalls are always found on their knees in an attitude of devotion and that which is still more singular since the alteration of the style, they contrive to do this only on the Eve of “old” Christmas Day. An honest countrymen living on the edge of St. Stephen’s Downs near Launceston, Cornwall, informed me on October 28th, 1790, that he once, with some others, made a trial of the truth of the above, and watching several oxen in their stalls at the above time at twelve o’clock at night they observed the two oldest oxen only, fall upon their knees and, as he expressed it in the idiom of the country, make a cruel moan like Christian creatures. I could not but with great difficulty keep my countenance; he saw and seemed angry that I gave so little credit to his tale and walking off in a pettish humour, seemed to marvel at my unbelief. There is an old print of the Nativity in which the oxen in the stable near the Virgin and Child are represented upon their knees as in a suppliant posture. This graphic representation has probably given rise to the above superstitious notion on this head.”

This legend continues in this poem published by Thomas Hardy in 1915: 
(by the way, “barton” means farmyard and “coomb” means valley)

The Oxen

Christmas Eve, and twelve of the clock.
“Now they are all on their knees,”
An elder said as we sat in a flock
By the embers in hearthside ease.

We pictured the meek mild creatures where
They dwelt in their strawy pen,
Nor did it occur to one of us there
To doubt they were kneeling then.


So fair a fancy few would weave
In these years! Yet, I feel,
If someone said on Christmas Eve,
“Come; see the oxen kneel,

“In the lonely barton by yonder coomb
Our childhood used to know,”with him in the gloom,
Hoping it might be so.
I should go

Our own team of oxen, Jiggs and Buckwheat, will be a part of our holiday celebration on Saturday, December 11th. We will be out and about, dodging the teams of horses jingling their bells and pulling their wagons and will be found later snug in the “gloom” of the Marble barn on the day of that magical yearly tradition: Candlelight Evening. Hope you can come!

Thanksgiving

by: Garet Livermore, Vice President for Education

THANKSGIVING DAY.--When shall it be? The last Thursday in November falls on the 29th. We petition each and all the State governors to appoint that day for our national rejoicing. Then all the land will be glad together, and union among the people would be a sure pledge of heart-thankfulness to God, who has given to us, as a nation, such wonderful prosperity, such universal blessings.  -- Sarah J. Hale, Editor, Godey’s Lady’s Book, October 1855.

Fall thanksgiving celebrations have been a part the American experience since colonial days. The celebration at Plymouth Plantation by the Pilgrims in 1621 is only the most famous example. Celebrating at harvest time with a feast and games was a common practice in all of the colonies, including New York and Virginia. Each location marked the successful harvest with its own traditional foods and activities. It was not until a public relations campaign spearheaded by Sarah J. Hale, the editor of Godey’s Ladies Book, in the middle of the 19th century that the holiday became a national event. The date was first fixed as the final Thursday in November by the proclamation of President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 and later adjusted to the fourth Thursday in November in a law signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941. Apparently, Roosevelt felt that in the country would benefit from the extra week of Christmas shopping in those years when November has five Thursdays.

The Turkey as National Dish
The centerpiece of most Thanksgiving meals, the turkey, has an interesting history of its own. Although many people know the story of Ben Franklin’s proposal to make the bird our national symbol, fewer know why it is the almost universal choice for our Thanksgiving meals. When early settlers came to Massachusetts, they were pleased to find fish and game in abundance. They were particularly fond of the bird they called the “Turkey Fowl” because of the belief that it was related to the guinea fowl then being imported to Europe from the Middle East.

Initially, the birds were so numerous that they were a reliable food source for early settlers. Edward Winslow, a Pilgrim leader, described hunting the birds for the first Thanksgiving meal: “Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruits of our labor. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week.” With this kind of unsustainable hunting the birds quickly became scarce, and wild turkeys almost disappeared from New England in the 18th century.

Farmers developed domesticated breeds of turkey to raise for meat and eggs. Although never as popular as chickens or even geese for family meals and holidays, the turkey benefitted from its traditional connection with Thanksgiving and became a specialty animal for farmers to raise and bring to market in the fall. Most of these breeds had strong regional connections, like the Narragansett in the Northeast and the Bourbon Red in Kentucky. The Farmers’ Museum raises a small flock of Narragansett turkeys here in Cooperstown as it was the most common breed of turkey in our region.

Driving Turkeys to Market
Just like today, the demand for turkeys was highly seasonal in the 19th century. Farmers who raised the birds had to drive them to market for the profitable holiday season. “Driving” turkeys in the 19th century consisted of getting the whole flock to walk, sometimes more than a hundred miles, to market under their own power. The flock was led by a wagon filled with grain that a boy sprinkled in front of the group and it was followed by men with long “switches” or sticks that could be used to poke and prod reluctant turkeys along the way. The process had several challenges, including birds’ instinct to roost in trees, on roofs and in the rafters of covered bridges that they encountered. “Turkey trots” were often held up for days while the drovers climbed in trees and on buildings, poking at the birds to get them down on the ground and walking to market again.
Thanksgiving at The Farmers’ Museum
The Farmers' Museum will reopen its doors on the Friday and Saturday following Thanksgiving to offer visitors a glimpse of how Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1845. Visitors will get a chance to see a turkey drive and help the Farmers move our turkeys to market across the museum grounds. You will see our staff prepare a traditional Thanksgiving meal at Lippitt farmhouse and watch the blacksmith forge trivets and fireplace tools. At the Middlefield Printing Shop you can print a traditional Thanksgiving recipe to take home for your own use. Come join the fun and explore the museum!