The Founding of the Homeplace - Story 2, First Plantings, Part 1

The Founding of the Homeplace

Story 2, The First Plantings, Part 1

"The Founding of the Homeplace" saga will continue here on the first and third Friday of each month, going forward. See Story 1 (Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4) earlier. This is a serial presentation of the story, beginning in 1833, when four families decided to settle the land, the valley, that would become the setting of the first two books in the The Homeplace Series: "Back to the Homeplace" and "The Homeplace Revisited" as well as the forthcoming third book in the series, "The Homeplace Forever." These three books are set in the years 1987, 1996, and 2006, respectively. The underlying premise of this trilogy is the desire of the family matriarch to retain the family farm in the southern Missouri Ozarks in whole and in the family. 

[Source: Currier & Ives, "Falling Spring, c 1868"; Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov: accessed 25 Jan 2013)]

Characters in the trilogy become actively involved in the study of their family history and snippets of that research appear, from time to time through the trilogy (one example). This serial presentation begins to share that ‘research’ in Story Form, and, some of the Stories represent 'writings of the family' that were ‘discovered’ in the process of that research. Each Story is an essay or report of the activities of the initial four families and their descendants that settled the Homeplace – the farm and the surrounding valley.

Story 2, First Plantings

In this episode, we share "Part 1 of 4"

The settlement party of 11 persons fell into a daily routine that combined meeting current needs and accomplishing long-term tasks needed for a successful stay in the “Oak Springs” valley. 

Among the first tasks for the new residents were to use the oxen to pull some of the trees that Hugh Truesdale had felled to the common campsite to use for a cooking ‘lean-to’ and as permanent supports for the tents for the first few weeks. Some of larger branches were also available to begin construction of a rough corral and pens for some of the animals. Henry and Harry McDonald drove the oxen following Truesdale’s guidance to locate the trees and bring them across Oak Creek and into a staging area in Cardinal Corner. The trees were allowed to dry, were stripped of leaves and branches (stacked and piled for later use), and cut to proper sizes for their intended use.

Robert Baldridge had apprenticed as a surveyor as a young man in Kentucky and had taken enough surveying work in later years to maintain and increase his qualifications. In his earlier visit to the valley, he had identified the base survey markers that had been in place a few years. By 1833, this valley existed as part of the far north west end of Ripley County, Missouri. Robert and his son, David, along with assistance from Jake Patton, allocated some early time to laying out and marking the key lines each family would need to claim their individual lands.

Following the pattern the weather had been in as they trekked from the lumber camps to their new valley, every several days a thunderstorm rolled through the valley followed by hot and humid days. This was actually a very fortunate circumstance because it gave them an excellent opportunity to observe water run-off patterns both for their camp and for planning garden and planting plots. 

They had agreed that a community garden made the most sense for this first season since it was already late in the year for some plantings. For this reason, a nearby spot in the newly named “Cardinal Corner” was identified and plowed as one of the early tasks. A drag was constructed from tree branches to drag over the plowed ground to break up the bigger clods in this virgin soil, since they did not bring a harrow. The cast iron plow Jake had brought worked well. They were careful to watch for boulders in the ground, so as not to risk breaking the plow at an early date. Henry McDonald and his son, Harry, took the lead on the plowing and dragging, assisted by Hugh Truesdale. Hugh continued to allocate some time each day to felling more trees joined by the other men from time to time.

Once the community garden plot was roughly prepared, the women took the lead in final preparation and layout of the garden for planting. Kate and Victoria Patton used rake and hoe to finish the preparation for planting the seeds. Susannah and Sarah McDonald planted and covered the seeds as had been agreed. Laura McDonald kept an accurate written plot map, marked each planting, and assisted getting all the materials to the right places as needed. They also prepared barriers around the garden to keep out the pigs and other animals as best they could. They also installed a couple of scarecrows. Before long, green spouts could be seen throughout the garden plot. 

[...to be continued... on February 15, 2013, with Part 2 of Story 2]

Note: Story 2, by William Leverne Smith, was originally published as a Short Story, "First Plantings" in the anthology: Echoes of the Ozarks, Volume VIII, 2012, published by the Ozarks Writers League.

The Founding of the Homeplace - Story 1, The Trek, Part 2

The Founding of the Homeplace

Story 1, The Trek, Part 2

"The Founding of the Homeplace" saga continues here on the first Friday of each new Month. See Part 1 in November 2012. This is a serial presentation of the story, beginning in 1833, when four families decided to settle the land, the valley, that would become the setting of the first two books in the The Homeplace Series: "Back to the Homeplace" and "The Homeplace Revisited" as well as the forthcoming third book in the series, "The Homeplace Forever." These three books are set in the years 1987, 1996, and 2006, respectively. The underlying premise of this trilogy is the desire of the family matriarch to retain the family farm in the southern Missouri Ozarks in whole and in the family. 

[Source: Currier & Ives, “Home in the wilderness,” c1870; Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov : accessed 31 Dec 2012)]

Characters in the trilogy become actively involved in the study of their family history and snippets of that research appear, from time to time through the trilogy (one example). This serial presentation begins to share that ‘research’ in Story Form, and, some of the Stories represent 'writings of the family' that were ‘discovered’ in the process of that research. Each Story is an essay or report of the activities of the initial four families and their descendants that settled the Homeplace – the farm and the surrounding valley.

Story 1, The Trek to the Homeplace

In this episode, we share "Part 2 of 4"

Preparations for the trip had been underway since the previous fall in anticipation that this would be the spring when the move would be made. The distance they would travel was probably no more than twenty-five miles, as the crow flies, but they would not be crows flying. Following the animal and Indian paths they had marked off on the way over, and especially on the way back, would be closer to thirty-five miles. On the way back, they had cleared a path about four feet wide to accommodate their oxen pulling one-ox carts with the provisions they wanted to initially have in their new Homeplace. They would not try to take all of their furniture on this first trip; they would make at least two more trips before winter arrived. The group would be taking four oxen pulling four carts of provisions along with two bulls for backup and future breeding of the four milk cows making the trip. They had worked together to construct the carts over the winter and believed they were all ready to go. The move to the new Homeplace would likely take as much as four or five days, even with good weather, and how likely was that?

The ground they would be traveling consisted of rugged hills, springs, creeks and caves. There were still Indians, Delawares and Shawnees, who came through from time to time, mostly in the fall and winter, but they had not encountered any on this most recent trip nor had they seen any signs of recent visits. There was much wild game, of course, and signs of many more than they saw. Hunting, trapping and selling furs to traveling buyers and back here at the lumber camps would be a critical part of their new lives.

Some people described these folks and their neighbors as two-thirds hunter and one-third trader and lumberman. Young Truesdale and the McDonalds were determined to tame some of the land in their new ‘Homeplace’ valley for farming along with hunting and trapping. The Baldridges and Pattons would also have farming plots to provide for their families. They were also confident that other families would follow, as the Barksdales eventually needed to justify building their mill. Being the first to stake out their claims on the best fields was an important part of the planning for this group, the recent trip, and their expectations for the future. They would also take along some razorback hogs and two coops of chickens for a good start at their new lives.

Corn and bean seeds for immediate planting, along with garden seeds and several kinds of plantings would be priorities on this initial trip, as well. Jake would be taking his basic blacksmithing tools and materials, of course. Some of their needs could be met on occasional return trips, so those considerations were very important in keeping this first trip to basic essentials only.

[...to be continued... on January 4, 2013, with Part 3 of Story 1]

Note: Story 1, by William Leverne Smith, was originally published as a Short Story, "The Trek to the Homeplace" in the anthology: Echoes of the Ozarks, Volume VII, 2011, published by the Ozarks Writers League (pp. 55-64).

The Founding of the Homeplace - Story 1, The Trek, Part 1

The Founding of the Homeplace

Story 1, The Trek, Part 1

Beginning today, "The Founding of the Homeplace" saga will be shared here on the first Friday of each new Month. This will be a serial presentation of the story, beginning in 1833, when four families decided to settle the land, the valley, that would become the setting of the first two books in the The Homeplace Series: "Back to the Homeplace" and "The Homeplace Revisited" as well as the forthcoming third book in the series, "The Homeplace Forever." These three books are set in the years 1987, 1996, and 2006, respectively. The underlying premise of this trilogy is the desire of the family matriarch to retain the family farm in the southern Missouri Ozarks in whole and in the family.

[Source: Currier & Ives, “Home in the wilderness,” c1870; Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov : accessed 31 Dec 2012)]

Characters in the trilogy become actively involved in the study of their family history and snippets of that research appear, from time to time through the trilogy (one example). This serial presentation begins to share that ‘research’ in Story Form, and, some of the Stories represent 'writings of the family' that were ‘discovered’ in the process of that research. Each Story is an essay or report of the activities of the initial four families and their descendants that settled the Homeplace – the farm and the surrounding valley.

Story 1, The Trek to the Homeplace

In this episode, we share "Part 1 of 4"

            “They’re back. The men-folks have returned from t’other side of the mountain.”

            Eleven year-old Sarah ran thither and yon looking for kinfolk and friends to tell that her pa and the other men were coming down the mountain path.

This was the spring on 1833, and four men had gone over the mountains to the southeast in search of a location for a mill on a spring fed creek along with abundant farming land in the adjacent valley for their families.

            Sarah’s father, Robert Baldridge, wanted a mill of his own after working for his father for nearly ten years here on the Big Piney River in south central Missouri. Robert and Susannah, his wife, along with Sarah, and their son, David, three years younger than his sister, had been preparing to make this move for a couple of years now. A young farmer, a farm family, and a blacksmith family planned to join them on the move, when the time was right. That time was drawing very near.

            Hugh Truesdale was a mature twenty-one year-old young man who wanted a fresh start in new territory as well. He was big and strong, intelligent, and hard working. His father wanted him to be a mill operator here, but Hugh was headstrong and determined to make his living working the land in a new, pristine location.

            Henry McDonald, with his wife, Laura, and their son, Harry, eleven years old, also wanted a new start in a new place. Laura had lost three babies, here, and yearned for a less congested life, away from the active logging environment here in the heavy pine forests. Henry wanted to farm his own land like his father had done before they came to the Missouri logging camps from Kentucky.

            Jake Patton was one of five blacksmiths in the area. Jake was also an accomplished gunsmith. However, he was most often found working at shoeing the many teams of oxen used to pull the cut pine timber to the river for transport, down the Big Piney River, then down the Gasconade and the Missouri River to St. Louis. He and his wife, Kate, and their fifteen years old daughter, Victoria, had made the commitment to join this group in finding a new life over the mountain, where the streams flowed south, not north like they did here.

            The three men dressed in buckskins, axes hanging from their belts, and carrying their Kentucky long rifles, powder horns and pouches, strode down the path and now approached the Baldridge home. Susannah had come out to greet Robert, along with Sarah and David. She saw Henry and Jake behind Robert, but asked, “Where is young Truesdale? Is he alright?”

            “He volunteered to stay behind, to guard our properties and to begin cutting timber for housing for when we all get there! We found the place we were looking for. It is a virgin valley fed by three springs – one large one back up on the ridge to the north, and two smaller ones to the west across a great valley of excellent soil and healthy air. The larger stream is ideal for our mill. The middle stream will accommodate Jake’s needs as a blacksmith, and there is plenty of land for farming. Fish are abundant in the streams. We need to make the move now, before others discover it and compete for the best locations. They’ll be following, soon enough, I’m sure.”

             Laura and young Harry McDonald arrived to greet Henry. Kate and Victoria were not far behind to meet Jake. It was a happy reunion all around. As it was still late afternoon, the families soon were back at their own homes beginning final preparations for the move. The men had agreed as they walked the return path that they would try to get packed and start moving in five days. There was no time to lose.

[...to be continued... on December 7, 2012, with Part 2 of Story 1]

Note: Story 1, by William Leverne Smith, was originally published as a Short Story, "The Trek to the Homeplace" in the anthology: Echoes of the Ozarks, Volume VII, 2011, published by the Ozarks Writers League (pp. 55-64).