Tag: The Ohio Country
Call it hatcheling, hackeling or hetcheling — you’ll get the point
Before flax could be spun into fine linen thread, early craftspeople relied on hatcheling. Learn about the specialized hatchelsmiths who built these spiked iron tools and how decorated hatchels evolved from essential farm equipment into prized early American folk art.
The grueling history of growing flax in early America
From Gov. George Yeardley’s Virginia colony to German settlers in Pennsylvania and Ohio, flax was essential for making pioneer linen. Despite its grueling, backbreaking labor, growing flax became a vital crop for early American survival.
