A November Song: Visiting Greenfield Village on an Autumn Day

So here we go on another trip to my favorite local open-air museum, Greenfield Village, which has three hundred acres covering 400 years of (mostly) American history.

And though I am not an employee there, it is a place that I visit quite often.

Just because.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~Listen! the wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves,

We have had our summer evenings, now for November eves!~

So it was the morning we returned to Standard 

Time (from DST) that I came up with this.

My wife laughed, and that's good enough for me!

November is a wonderful month to time-travel to the past, especially to the 18th century, and the only place to do so in my neck of the woods with any kind of colonial history is Greenfield Village, which is why I frequently visit that wonderful open-air museum as often as I do. The thing is, I never cease to learn something new while there, for there are those presenters who have been employed at the Village for many years (they know who they are) who have their heart and soul firmly planted in in the past and have gained a wealth of historical knowledge to share. These presenters go beyond the usual and utilize descriptive ways to tell of the past, which can verbally take the visitor - even an uninterested visitor who may have been unwillingly dragged there - to another time...a time that one can only 'visit' with - dare I say it? - years of research and experience.
Oh! We have wonderful conversations (for they respect me as well).
Yes, even an old historian like me continues to learn, as well as teach, during these visits.
So, as it goes, I was able to venture back to Greenfield Village early on in this wonderful month of November with my son and his girlfriend while all of us wore our period clothing.
We certainly had a splendid time in the past like no other, that's for certain, as you shall see.
Let us, then, begin our trek at the far-end of the Village:

The first thing we noticed was the beautiful autumn scene from the 1760s that surrounded the colonial end of the Village.
That is the Daggett House on the left, built around 1750, and the Cotwold Cottage group of buildings on the right, originally from England, and were built about 1620.

Of course, if you know me at all you know that the Daggett home, presented as it may have been like in the 1760s, is my favorite historic structure inside Greenfield Village.  

This break-back style structure just draws me to it. Since the first time I saw it in 1983, it spoke to me like few other historic houses inside the Village have. It is a must visit for me each time I am there.

Since on this day there were few visitors inside the Village, we were able to stay a little longer than we normally do, enjoying the autumn outside, while immersing ourselves inside...

The great hall:

The way this room is presented in the Daggett home is as an all-purpose area 
with a large fireplace where most of the cooking, eating, and presentations of the textile arts occur.  

In its time, though, the great hall would not had been too far removed from our modern day living room. Whereas the formal parlor was reserved for the closest of friends, the great hall would have been the room where family and friends of all kinds would congregate for visits, where textile & sewing chores such as quilting, spinning and weaving would occur, and, yes, even eating a meal as well.

As it was a cooler autumn day, the warmth from the fire in the hearth was most welcoming to us.

Heather made herself a red cloak so she could enjoy spending time reenacting in the winter months. I mean, why stop because of the weather, right? I don't believe there is a single month out of the year that I don't find myself in period clothing.

During the previous weekend, the ladies of Daggett dyed their spun wool by way of using the natural plants surrounding the farm, just as was done 250 years ago.
I always enjoy watching the actual process take place, but, unfortunately, this year I could not make it.

But...I did get to see the outcome!

My all-natural woolen cap.

Hollyhock, tansy, black walnut, brazilwood, long soaking indigo, golden marguerite, sanderswood, osage orange, madder root, and other plants of the period were used to create these bright colors.
I still recall that myth I heard as a young lad that most people of the 18th century dressed in drab, plain colors. But as research continues, we find just the opposite to be true. And the colors you see in the above picture shows this
My reenacting wife also spins wool into yarn by way of her Saxony spinning wheel, and she dyes it naturally. The winter woolen cap that she made for me, shown here on the right, is based upon one from the 18th century. It was made from raw wool, which she washed, skirted, and carded, then spun. Finally, it was dyed utilizing the same process the Daggett women use. In fact, since we are friends with numerous Daggett presenters, it was they who taught my wife how to do this.
The final step was to knit it for me.

Alas, it was time for us to make our way to the out doors. Heather, however, didn't want to leave. She, too, was drawn to this house and felt as if she belonged.
Maybe she does...

The unused dye was tossed out.
  

As you can see, the kitchen garden that not only had vegetables for consumption and plants for medicinal purposes, but plants for dyeing as well, has been almost totally harvested of its crop.

Robbie checks out the few cabbages that were left.
Just like Abe Woodhull in the AMC TV series "Turn."

I showed Heather the asparagus on the opposite end.
Just look at how colorful this photo is!

The next two photos belong to Brittany Frederick and her living history group Civilian Corp of Interpreters, who happened to be visiting Greenfield Village a day earlier (so we didn't get the chance to meet her).
I thank her for allowing me to post these wonderful pictures.

I always enjoy seeing children take part in living history.
They may not fully understand now, but when they get into middle school and high school, they will give their teachers a run for their money.

And before we leave Daggett for this visit, I would like to show you a made up scene...but it's a scene that 'could have been' - - - - 

Just having fun with Paint Shop Pro:

This is just a fun pictured I whipped up rather quickly; it's a composite of six different photographs in a fun attempt to make a sort of cohesive 18th century farm picture

Just down the road, as it sits inside Greenfield Village, is the Cotswold Collection, consisting of the house (or cottage), a barn, dovecoat, and forge, each seen in this photo.

The Cotswold Cottage, from Chedworth, Gloucestershire, England, was built around 1620. Henry Ford desired to show America's Ancestral European life.  This was up for sale, which Mr. Ford bought, and by September of 1930, the Cotswold Cottage was re-erected upon Michigan soil.
It is the oldest structure inside Greenfield Village.

(A Mary Marshall picture)

Here are Heather and Rob before entering this wonderfully ancient building.
Just think...it was built the same year the pilgrim separatists crossed the ocean to found Plymouth Colony. 

As the two sat near the window, it looked like a living painting to me. I took several pictures, with this one being the most 'haunting.'

Brittany Frederick had her picture taken in the same spot the day before.

And her children enjoyed the outdoors as only children of the past could.

Me, Robbie, and Heather also explored the stone-fenced in yard of Cotswold, taking in the beauty that is autumn in Michigan.

The two pictures here, taken by Mary Marshall, almost seem to have one of those fake backgrounds, but I can assure you, what you see is what was there.
Simply beautiful.

I am descended from Quakers who came to this country from England in 1710 and settled in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Although I am not portraying a Quaker, I certainly feel like I look like one. I wonder how close I resemble my 5th or 6th great grandfather, Jonathan Heacock?

The Cotswold collection is, perhaps, one of the most picturesque area of the Village, no matter what time of year, for in the summertime flowers are planted - don't ask me what kind - giving it a very European feel.
But then, the Covered bridge is pretty picturesque. And so is the Edison Cottage yard. And what about the front of the Martha-Mary Chapel? So many areas of the Village...

A-walking in the cool autumn morning...
(Caught by Gary Thomas)

Another splendid autumn scene captured by Gary Thomas.
I read that autumn is to a photographer what April is to an accountant. 
I think I agree...
(Gary Thomas took this photo)

Horse and carriage rides add to the ambiance of the Village.

If it's fall it must be harvest time.
And if it's harvest time, a trip to the Gristmill, such as this one, known as the Loranger Gristmill (built in 1832), is a necessity.
If you would like to read more about gristmills, please click HERE

Take the long way home...but I will return...

Yes, I visit Greenfield Village quite a bit, but I have for nearly forty years. I have done my best to promote this wonderful place of history, through the old-fashioned word of mouth, through this blog, and even through a Facebook page (Friends of Greenfield Village).
It's only true rival would be the Smithsonian and Colonial Williamsburg in size and scope.
So you can understand why I am there so often.
Yep...I will be back.

So, until next time, see you in time.

Thanks to Brittany Frederick and her living history group Civilian Corp of Interpreters for allowing me use of a few of her pictures.

Click the following links to learn more about harvest time:
Fall
Colonial Harvest

And if you would like to know a bit more about my own colonial group, Citizens of the American Colonies, please click HERE and HERE

Finally, I should like to leave you with this little November note:

This is a perfect sonnet for November. 

~   ~   ~