What's nice about having my own blog and not blog for money is I can freely write about anything I want and not be worried about so-called blog "ratings." For instance, this is the second post in a row that has a Daggett connection. I would hope that history folk would enjoy it because of what the posting is centered on---in this case, the colonial well sweep and how they were made back in the day. It just so happens that the only well sweep in this neck-of-the-woods is at the Daggett House inside the hallowed walls of historic Greenfield Village. But not only do we get to check out the well sweep - we get to see one being made in the same manner as 18th century Samuel Daggett would have done.
And that's what this week's post - and history in of itself - is all about, Charlie Brown!
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I've been visiting the Daggett House inside Greenfield Village regularly since the early 1980s, and aside from the earliest days of its move there - the late 1970s and 1980s - more often than not the house as it sits inside the Village was run by women presenters. Now, there is nothing wrong with that, mind you, for I learned a lot of how a colonial house was run and what the family would have experienced inside the home. But, aside from soldiering or politicians or even a bit of firewood-chopping, we tend to forget the 18th century male side of daily life. Well, now that we have Roy & Chuck working at the Daggett House, the two have been making their way into a more much needed prominent representation of the colonial man. And this past summer, for the first time, the two men were scheduled to work at the home together, and it was for this reason they were able to also work together to complete a historically accurate project: making a new well-sweep...and making new firepit poles.
And even making new saw horses!
I spent much of my time there documenting this, all the while imagining Samuel Daggett himself looking down upon these two with pride.
For this historian, it was a great summer!
So that's where I would like to begin this journey - in early June 2023 - to watch history come to life.
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| If I had the money (and I was younger), I would replicate this house to have for my own. |
It's here at Greenfield Village - specifically at the Daggett House - where I spent most of my summer Thursdays 2023 documenting two men of history, Roy & Chuck, accomplish a task that not only needed to be done, but was done in a period-correct manner. You see, Samuel Daggett, the builder and original owner of the house, was a housewright, a farmer, a repairman...a jack-of-all-trades. He had to be, as most other farmers of the 18th century were, for if anything broke, he could not always depend on others to have it repaired. Nor could he look it up on YouTube or in his Time-Life repair books (lol). He had to know how to do it himself...or he learned, oftentimes through trial and error. But Samuel was a right-smart man, and I'd be willing to bet there weren't many errors in his trials.
You may have noticed, upon visiting the Daggett House this year, that the well sweep has been missing.
I most certainly did!
What is a well-sweep?
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| The Daggett well sweep (on the right) |
A well sweep is an ingenious device used to bring water up from a well.
The only materials needed to construct such a device were wooden poles, usually obtained locally from the forest, and oftentimes a heavy weight of stone or clay. And then to build one, one should have a vertical post, often with a Y notch at the top, mounted by the well. The post held a horizontal pole, or "sweep," which was heavier at one end and rested on the ground, with an attached bucket or pail placed at the other end. A person would pull the thin pole and bucket down into the well and fill it with water, and the sweep’s weight of stone or clay would then lift the bucket up.
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| The Daggett Well. |
As historian/author Eric Sloane described it:
One of the vanished pieces of farmyard equipment is the well sweep.
The object of a well sweep was to let the sweep lift a full bucket by its own counterweight; the bucket, therefore, had to be small and the sweep itself enormous. The average sweep was either a long, heavy pole or, preferably, a whole length of tree, often over forty feet long; the bucket usually held two gallons or less. Instead of a rope, a drop-pole held the bucket, and with it you "pulled the bucket" into the well by lowering the drop-pole hand over hand.
Eric Sloane, historian (from his book "Seasons of America Past")
Well sweeps, largely used in colonial America and on the frontier in a time before the more well-known "wishing well" style wells became popular, are rare items to be found these days, and, according to Early American Life Magazine (June 2018 issue), few survive today, so we are very lucky to have one - replications count! - within our midst at Greenfield Village. The fact that there was such a mostly forgotten object of historical significance over at the Daggett house says much, and for that I give Greenfield Village a lot of credit.
The Daggett well sweep sat right outside the back buttery/kitchen door near the garden path. But it had been missing for a while due to its age and weather affects – wood can only last so long in such conditions. And, to top it off, it was broken accidently. So Chuck & Roy, who've been separately presenting at the Daggett House for years, spent the summer Thursdays of 2023 together rebuilding it. These two men actually rarely worked together previously except on special occasions, but this summer was different, which was, as I would say, good for history.
And here we, as visitors, were able to watch as the two Daggett representatives built a new one, as seen in the pictures herein!
It’s this sort of thing that excites me most of all!
Everyday history coming to life!
This story begins in 2022 when I noticed that the Daggett well sweep was nowhere to be found. I was told of it being knocked over due to the wood in the ground rotting. It was at that point when I had learned that our two resident Daggett men, Roy & Chuck, planned to rebuild it using only period-appropriate methods and technology as would have been used 250 years ago, in Samuel Daggett's time.
But they did not only build a well sweep, they also built a couple of saw horses and new firepit poles & stands as well. It was like watching my favorite historical farm TV series or reading my Eric Sloane books, but only having everything done live right before my eyes! It was enjoyable historically to watch the way the work was done and how the tools were used in the past. I was never taught how to work with wood so watching and photographing helps me. Sometimes at reenactments some of the masters of these crafts will allow me to help, which I greatly appreciate. But over at Daggett they could not allow me, a visitor, to work with the tools for building the well sweep. I suppose it's understandable, considering they used axes, saws, and the like - insurance companies would not allow for such a thing!
So, for most Thursdays in the summer of '23 I enjoyed spending time watching and documenting and learning.
My first day out to watch I caught Chuck using a draw knife to shave the bark off of this pine log.
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| There were plenty of pine logs that needed to be shaved, for they were not only building a well sweep but a couple of saw horses, and firepit poles. |
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| Here is a close up of the "draw-knife, " called that because you drew the blade toward you as the tool stripped the bark from the log. |
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| From Roy: "The parts for the well-sweep can be found in the forest. I have been blessed with a ten acre forest in northern Michigan. I’m planning on going up there with some hand tools to harvest everything I need. Chuck and I are planning to build a shave horse, and with that we’re planning to build a spring pole lathe, a couple saw horses, and several other types of tools made from green wood. |
As Eric Sloane wrote in his book, "A Museum of Early American Tools":
But only with the emergence of the snitzelbank, or shaving horse, which made it simpler to hold the article being shaved, did the draw-knife become a most favored tool.
The draw-knife was used to taper the sides of shingles, to rough-size the edges of floor boards and rough-trim paneling before planing them, to fashion axe, rake, and other tool handles, and to make stool legs, ox yokes, pump handles, and wheel spokes. It is easy to see why the draw-knife was so popular!
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| Roy's turn to use the draw-knife. |
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| That same log a short time later. |
Due to his log book, we know that Samuel Daggett worked with wood often and could be found building or repairing things, including framing other houses, repairing spinning wheels, and even building coffins.
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| As you can see by the amount of logs here, there was plenty of man-power that went into this job. It was fascinating to watch. |
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| Chuck & Roy did "draw" visitors of the Village who happened upon the Daggett House, interested in their project. |
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| These two men have taken to heart the chores and work of Sam Daggett. With the ladies inside preparing and cooking the meals, as Mrs. Daggett and the Daggett daughters would have, and all presenters helping in the kitchen garden as needed, this is probably the most everyday life activity I've seen occurring in and around this, my favorite house of history. |
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| Here is the "Y" from the previous well sweep. It is too old and too rotted to re-use, so they are looking to either find another "Y" or replicate it somehow. |
Toward the end of June I came a-visiting wearing my period clothing. My daughter wanted to spend time with me, and so she suggested Greenfield Village, where she and I often used to visit together when she was young. She many times would dress period with me, though not this time. But I was so glad she joined me, and she snapped a nice picture of me with Roy and Chuck. I was asked if we wanted to do a posed picture of me helping them. I said "no," for I would like to actually help rather than being a poser. So I was more like a visiting neighbor, I suppose.
Do you like how our waistcoats match?
Must have had a lot of madder root the previous fall to make orange dye.
lolol
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| Ah! One of the two saw-horses is complete! |
Now to make sure the well sweep wood is going to last, and to do that they must remove the moisture from the logs.
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| Roy starts the fire in the pit - - - |
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| This is done by singeing the portion of the log that will go into the ground enough for the sap to be burned out. The wood will last much longer than unsinged wood. |
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| I never knew about this. It seems no matter how often I visit this place, I always learn something new. |
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| This is the sort of history I love to see. I've often thought how great it would be to get hired on to work at the Village and to be scheduled at Daggett with these two guys. Alas, this will not happen. But that's okay, for I get to visit as often as I like, oftentimes "dressed". And, hopefully, actually doing will happen someday for me. Perhaps at one of my frontier cabin experiences. |
The work continued into July~
Roy was told by a tool historian friend of management that the replicated 18th century saw he was using was not quite historically accurate to the Daggett period, so he corrected that mistake by removing the metal band that held the separate pieces of wood on each side together and replaced it with twine.
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| Roy was told by a tool historian that his saw was not quite historically accurate, so he corrected that mistake by removing the metal bar that held the separate pieces of wood together and replacing it with twine. |
And then, by also including a smaller piece of wood that the twine was tied to, he could tighten or loosen the saw as needed as the piece of wood was wrapped (or twisted) around. In this way he could spin/turn it, twisting the twine to be very taut (how’s that for an alliteration?), thus securing the two sides together tightly enough, as the more modern metal holder once did.
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| He also had a smaller piece of wood that the string wound around and the tied to it so when it was spun it twisted the twine very taut. |
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| Done and done! Now the saw can be seen and used, and its (his)story can be told as part of the story of Samuel Daggett. |
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| And here you can see the stick that keeps it taut. |
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| A page from the book "A Museum of Early American Tools" written by noted historian Eric Sloane. This is very similar to what Roy did to his saw. |
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| ...after |
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| Before... |
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| Roy continued making tools needed for the job: Here he is making a wooden wedge.  More often than not, colonials had to make their own tools to allow them to make items needed, so patience really was a virtue. |
Long about late July or early August, the Daggett "family" lost one of their own when one of the indoor presenters went away to college, so Chuck was scheduled to help inside to present when visitors strolled in.
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| Ruth & Chuck. |
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| Here are the logs that were singed/burnt, awaiting for a few more pieces. |
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| Roy working out plans... This man is, in my opinion, Samuel Daggett incarnate. The women of Daggett have brought the inside of the house to life as Anna Daggett & her daughters would have by preparing food, cooking over the hearth, spinning, dyeing wool, and other tasks more suitable for the colonial woman, and now Roy and Chuck have brought the colonial man to life as well with their outdoor wood-working chores. Sure, they brewed beer, processed flax, chopped wood, and have done other jobs of the sort, but, as noted earlier, Samuel Daggett, as many men of his time, worked with wood. And over the past few years - mostly since covid - we visitors now get to see that happen as well. I enjoy immensely seeing these smaller details of the past being brought back to life. |
Once again, Roy wrote to explain:
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| "We are splitting a log with wedges." |
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| He uses both metal and wood wedges. Back around 30 or 40 years ago, the blacksmith who worked directly across the street from the Daggett House here at Greenfield Village, would have made any metal parts needed, but with there no longer being any smithy's working the forge, and hasn't been for years, Roy has to search elsewhere for the metal items needed. |
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| Since he has not found the correct style of a "Y", Roy has to make his own type of fulcrum on which the sweep will rest. That's where these two pieces of split wood will come in handy. |
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| Once he had his makeshift "Y", it was time to flatten and smooth a shaved end to fit. |
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| "We are using flax oil to waterproof the logs." |
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| Tool Box Break! Chuck found this recently, and since it does fit the era of the Daggett House, he donated it. Kinda cool that it came with the carved sailing ship...and the capitol "D" at the bottom right corner! "D" for Daggett, mayhaps? |
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| As I mentioned before, Chuck and Roy could not find the correct size "Y" branch for the top/fulcrum of the well-sweep, so they are making something that will work. 18th century ingenuity! |
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| Twisting the twine to hold one half of the makeshift "Y" to make sure the holes that will be drilled will be lined up. |
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| Roy uses the auger once the half is good and taught. |
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| Two of twelve holes drilled with the auger. |
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| As you can see, the other side of the fulcrum is matched with its twin. |
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Using a hand drill to drill a hole into the long sweep |
There is a short anecdote to tell here:
Roy had the temptation of using an electric/battery-operated drill, for using an auger was trying and somewhat cumbersome. Then he told me he thought of how disappointed I would be if he used any modern tools (lolol). I said that I most certainly would have been disappointed, especially knowing how far he had come in making this the way Sam Daggett did! I told him I'm like Jiminy Cricket...a sort of "conscience of history."
So----he did it all the right way!
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| And now to fit the iron rods to hold the two pieces of the sweep together. |
I also enjoy watching the indoor activities, for a colonial family worked as a well-oiled machine, and if either of the jobs from indoors or outdoors did not work together and did not get done, it could mean disaster for the family.
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| So Ruth spent her time preparing the main meal of the day, and worked in the kitchen garden as needed to replenish any of the necessities as needed. That's what she did - no Krogers to run to, but her kitchen garden instead. |
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| I had not seen this before: roasting a chicken on the rack. |
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| Ruth let the men know that it was time to eat. |
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| Enjoying a repast of 18th century New England fare. As I mentioned earlier, in order for a colonial family to be successful, they had to work together: the colonial thought process was that God called men and women to perform particular tasks or work in this life; the women were invariably called to be housewives and mothers, cooks, and even to do doctoring, and men were called to specific work as farmers, carpenters, builders, store owners, coopers, and so on. To understand this time, one must view their world through 18th century eyes - for there is no room for 21st century thinking in an 18th century world. The system was highly efficient, from husband & wife down through the children. Family, household production, and education for life were synonymous. One missing link, though, could throw a wrench into the entire operation. All jobs were just as important as the other, whether men's work or women's. |
And back to work on another Thursday.
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| Roy fit the wooden dowels - nails - into the holes. |
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| Unfortunately, they were a bit too wide so he had to trim them a bit to fit. |
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| This is how the first one looked all the way through. |
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| Now to pound in the rest. |
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| Also, to tie it all together so when it rained the wood would swell and the dowels would fit even tighter inside the holes. |
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| Now we're getting closer...time to dig the post hole near the well. |
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| The old post broken off from the previous well-sweep was still in the ground. We noticed it was not singed, which was why it rotted away and broke the way it did. |
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| That looks to be about two & a half feet down. Ready for the main well sweep post.  |
It may sound silly, but all summer long we've been building up to this moment. For me it was quite exciting (yeah...I'm such a history nerd!)~
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| Into the hole... |
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| The old "Y" that is too rotted anymore for use leans against the fence while Roy stands next to the new one just put into the hole. There are just a few small steps to take before it can be considered complete. |
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| The "sweep" fits into the makeshift "Y"~the fulcrum. |
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| Roy measured the distance of the "sweep" to the well to make sure it could be easily dipped to gather water. It was not set in the fulcrum permanently at this point - just a trial. |
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| However, the new firepit side poles are in! |
On the second-to-last Thursday of summer - September 14 - meteorological fall was already upon us, and nighttime lows were falling between the upper 40s and low 50s, and daytime highs were reaching the mid-to-upper 60s and into the 70s.
Very pleasant weather.
And, yes, leaves had begun to change and some were even beginning to fall.
So it was on this mid-September day that Roy was ready to complete this project that, had he worked more days with more hours - or had he actually been living in the 1760s - it would have easily been completed within a two-day period. But he is a historic presenter, therefore it was a chore that was made to last all summer long, giving him, at best, a few interrupted hours a week to work the task.
It just so happened that on this particular day I was there, in my period clothing, along with my living history friend, Norm.
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| The main post is firmly in the ground. Moods were high and happy on this perfect late-summer day. In this shot we see Norm & Roy (and Melissa in the doorway). |
There were a few small things yet to be done before setting the sweep into the fulcrum of the main post. Lucky for me I was able to finally lend a small hand - no tools or lifting or anything of the sort----just holding items still so Roy could more easily complete the job at hand.
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| I held the sweep while Roy fit in a metal U-bracket. |
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| Then it was carried over to the pole set next to the well. |
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| Roy, using the auger, drilled a little larger hole for the pegs to fit. |
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| As Roy lifted the sweep to the fulcrum, I held a makeshift metal axle to help align the holes. |
Once set it was time for the bucket.
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| The larger well sweep water bucket was being used elsewhere, so Roy tied the smaller one, just to make sure this simple machine would work as planned. The larger one would soon be where it belonged. |
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| The ladies of the house got a kick out of watching the men. That's Kirsten in the top photo and Melissa in the bottom picture.  |
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| This looking-through-the-window kind of image is my favorite of all, for seeing the men gathered together after a completed job has a very naturalness about it. One can imagine this scene being seen had we actually been in 1765/1770. |
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| I like that Roy and I took a picture together of the completed task. Aside from keeping a few pieces still while Roy drilled, etc., I did not do any actual work here. However, I did take the photos seen in this week's posting over the course of about 14 weeks - from early June through mid September. So that was my part in this job, in a way, so I suppose being in such a picture is okay (lol). And in the photo below we have...
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| With the firepit poles in the ground, the wooden top cross-bar needed to be fitted. |
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| Compared to the well sweep, this should be a breeze! |
And it pretty much was!
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| No, it isn't complete yet, for it needs to be braced, but it sure will be in time to brew colonial beer and to dye wool this fall! |
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| An amazing book~ |
I have had a ball visiting Roy (and Chuck and Ruth and Veronica and then Melissa and Kirsten) over the past three and a half months, watching and learning and photographing and even helping (a very little). Along the way I brought people with me - my daughter Rosalia, and my friends John, Brian, and Norm. They all got nearly as excited as I did seeing ancient tools in action. In fact, I have actually purchased a few for myself in the case I may have an opportunity to use them during one of my own living history excursions.
During this project, the name Eric Sloane continuously was brought up.
Who is Eric Sloane?
A very important daily life historian - I wrote a blog post about him HERE.
And this book shown on the left here that Sloane wrote was one in particular that was brought up quite often as well:
"This absorbing and profusely illustrated book describes in detail scores of early American tools and the wooden and metal artifacts made with them. Informally and expressively written, the text covers building tools and methods; farm and kitchen implements; and the tools of curriers, wheelwrights, coopers, blacksmiths, coachmakers, loggers, tanners, and many other craftsmen of the pre-industrial age."
I surprised Roy with a copy of this book on this last day. He broke out into a grin and was very surprised, telling me he has been wanting this book for quite a while. I'm glad I could do this for him - he deserves it. If anyone will learn and use it to its capacity, Roy will, for as I wrote earlier, he has the spirit of Sam Daggett within him.
Oh! He certainly does! He is doing the man proud.
By the way, Roy did mention that when he does find a suitable "Y" branch, he will replace the one he made. And when that happens, you can bet I'll post it right here.
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| Back to 18th century normal... |
Until next time, see you in time.
To read about the Daggett Family, please click HERE
To read about the way the Daggetts lived, please click HERE
To read the history of the Daggett House, please click HERE
To read about life on a colonial farm, please click HERE
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