Early settlers’ decisions could mean life or death
After arriving and establishing a campsite, settlers had to deal with a trio of priorities immediately — clearing land, planting crops and building shelter.
From stalk to shock to fodder, harvesting the corn crop required a myriad of...
Paul Locher explains how early settlers of Ohio country would have harvested corn, detailing the tools they would have used.
Whether raccoon, groundhog or weasel, it was still meat on the table for hunters
Frontier life meant hunting raccoons, groundhogs and weasels. Major General David Sloane Stanley’s memoirs reveal the challenges of pioneer hunts in Ohio.
You couldn’t pioneer without a felling axe
Paul Locher continues his "An American Tale" series by introducing readers to the most important tool used to open the American frontier — the felling axe.
Fighting back against deadly livestock predators
A huge hunt in Medina County in 1818 resulted in the harvest of 21 bears, 17 wolves, 300 deer and untold numbers of turkeys, foxes, raccoons and opossums.
It’s time to bring on the schnitzelbank
Paul Locher details the special tools early settlers required to construct sturdy roofs for their homes in Ohio and Pennsylvania in the 1800s.
By hook or by crook, the wheat harvest was accomplished with intensive labor
Paul Locher details how 1800s pioneers in Ohio Country would have accomplished the wheat harvest and describes the tools they would have used to do it.
With trees cut down, firewood takes center stage
How did settlers chop fire wood and heat their homes in 1800s Ohio Country? Paul Locher offers insight in the latest installment of An American Tale.
Corn husking bees brought neighbors together for work, socializing
Paul Locher details one of the great seasonal traditions among settlers in the Ohio Country — the husking bee or husking frolic.
Trees: The settlers’ biggest nemesis and asset
In his latest installment of "An American Tale," Paul Locher explains how early settlers managed to fell trees to build shelters in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
