Settlers House facts for kids
The Settlers' House was built in 1845 in East Charlotte, Vermont. Today, you can visit it at the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont. It helps visitors imagine what life was like in the 18th century. The barn next to the house was built in 2001. It shows how people used to work on farms.
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History of the Settlers' Cabin
Who Built the Cabin?
French Canadian lumberjacks likely built the Settlers' Cabin around 1800. They were people who cut down trees for wood. This cabin was in East Charlotte, Vermont.
How Was the Cabin Built?
The cabin was made from strong wood like beech and pine. The logs were "hand-hewn," meaning they were shaped by hand. They were joined together using a special method called "dovetail." This made the cabin very sturdy. It was a common type of temporary home for early Vermont settlers, loggers, and trappers.
The Cabin at Shelburne Museum
The Shelburne Museum got the cabin in 1955. When they first found it, wooden boards called "clapboard" covered the log walls. The museum carefully moved the cabin's outer walls to its new spot. They put in a new foundation and a new roof. They also fixed up the inside, including its single room, stone fireplace, and sleeping loft.
Today, the cabin and the nearby hay barn (built in 2001) are a "living exhibition." This means visitors can see and learn how early Vermont settlers truly lived.
The Sawmill at the Museum
Why Was the Sawmill Built?
In 1959, the museum built a sawmill right next to the Settlers' Cabin. In early America, wood was super important! People needed it for everything. They used wood to build ships, houses, and even barrels for storage. Because of this, lumber (cut wood) quickly became the most important "cash crop" in the 18th century. A cash crop is something grown or produced to be sold for money. The museum's sawmill shows how this valuable wood was prepared for sale.
How the Sawmill Worked
Sawmills use the power of moving water to run machinery. When the sawmill was working, the water's force pushed the saw blade up and down. This allowed it to cut through large logs. At its fastest, the saw could make two cuts every second. This meant a "sawyer" (the person operating the saw) could cut a 10-foot board in just eight minutes!
Where Did the Sawmill Equipment Come From?
The word "sawmill" can mean both the building and the machines inside it. The Shelburne Museum's sawmill was built to hold equipment from an old sawmill. This equipment came from South Royalton, Vermont. Jeremiah Trescott and Captain Stevens ran that mill in the late 1700s. The Shepard family, who were Trescott's relatives, kept running the mill until the early 1900s. Later, they gave the sawmill's contents to the museum.
