Cooking & Food (Pg 2); shelby county ohio historical society

Food Was Home-Grown

Sugar was made from beets, corn stalks and watermelon. It was also made from maple sap, a process that settlers learned from the Indians. Apples were a popular crop for farmers in the 1800s. They were eaten in many ways for all meals and as drinks. They could be stored by drying them and tasted much better than other dried foods. Apples were fed to animals such as hogs and could be turned into cider.

Access to water was very important in pioneer days. There were no pipes bringing water into the house and wells were expensive and hard to dig. There were no refrigerators and many foods would spoil quickly when left out in the heat. By putting foods into pottery containers and placing those containers in the cool water, the food would last much longer.

If there were no matches, fires were started by striking flint and iron together and possibly using some gunpowder.

According to Sutton, "[Shelby County] ...pioneers...endured hardships and privations of which we of today have but little conception...food was always coarse and unpalatable to the modern taste, and often scant—not sufficient for the demands of nature. Their principal food was corn bread and wild meat. Should a settler be fortunate enough to have wheat flour and tame meat, he was considered to live like a king. As a substitute for tea and coffee, they used the spice bush and sassafras. Many of the children of that day lived to become men and women without knowing the taste of store tea or coffee.

The tomato, now consumed by all, in those days was laid upon the fireplace mantel for an ornament, because Ohio women believed it was poisonous.

This is an abstract of a letter sent from Joseph and Hannah [surname unknown] written in 1850. Sidney, Shelby County, Ohio, July the 5th, 1850, half past five o’clock PM, just came in from the wheat field, raking and binding after Joseph, who has been cradling...Dear Children, We have had a very cold and dry spring some corn laid in the ground six weeks perfectly dry, we then had rain, and ever since have had a beautiful growing time. Corn is very uneven but bids fair now to do well. Oats and flax is coming out potatoes looks well wheat crops is better than they have been for years.

Meadows are generally thin but if we continue to get a few more showers they will make an average crop. Peaches we have none this year but there will be a great deal of apples. Our orchard had more than common. Our cherry trees are very full, some pairs and plums plenty of currents, a prospect for some grapes.

I will give you the market price of produce, Horses Good, From $50 to $75 to $100;

Cows From $10 to $15; Wheat 70 to 98 according to quality; Molasses 40cts and 62cts; Callico From 3 to 25cts; Timothy seed $1.50; Clover seed $3; Potatoes 62 a Bu. to 70;

Eggs 6cts a dozen; Flour $5 a barrel; Tallaho (Tallow) 8; Lake Salt $1.87; Flaxseed $1;

Rice 5 cts; Oats 31; Apples 50; Wool 25; Butter 10; Beeswax 17; Corn 45; Barley 75; Feathers 30cts; Lard 5cts; Sholers 4cts; Hams 6cts; Coffy 12cts; Sugar 8cts

Land is on the rise on account of the town pike from Sidney to Wapaukonnetta and railroad from Belfountain to St. Lewis by way of Indianapolis, Muncy town and Green Vill. The work is sold from Sidney to Belfountain. John Cary has got the contract to grub and grade. It is let wes(t) from Sidney to Houston and will be let as fast as they can get it ready. They now at work on it and calculate to have the cars running from Sidney to Belfountain in three years.

In 1881, Shelby County farmers produced the following products: Wheat, rye, buckwheat, barley, oats, corn, flax, potatoes, sweet potatoes, tobacco, sorghum, maple sugar, bees, butter and eggs. They harvested apples, peaches, pears, cherries, plums and grapes in many orchards. Animals included horses, mules, cattle, sheep and hogs.