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Western Word of the Week - Swamp seed - #WesternWordoftheWeek

Howdy!

Welcome to our Weekly Western Word of the Day...

Swamp seed - rice

Source:
The Cowboy Encyclopedia by Richard W Slatta; ISBN#0-87436-738-7

Western Travel - Log Cabin Village (Part Four) - Fort Worth, Texas - #TravelTuesday

Welcome to my weekly column #TravelTuesday featuring places I've discovered during my research trips or just wandering around in historical areas. I hope you enjoy my discoveries.

This week we continue our visit to the Log Cabin Village, in Fort Worth, Texas. Last week we looked at the Mill and the Herb Garden. Now we walk toward the Blacksmith Shop. Although it's not an original building but a reproduction, it contains a lot of interesting tools.








Continuing our march around the back of the village, we make a quick stop at the Smokehouse (where someone would have smoked their meats to preserve them for winter use). Build by the Reynolds family around 1854 in the town of Azle. A good picture of the restoration work and how smoking meat hung from the rafters can be found on the village's website: www.logcabinvillage.org/tour-smokehouse.html.




Learn more about the Tompkins family and their cabin here: www.logcabinvillage.org/tour-thompkins.html

Learn more about the village by checking out the official site - www.logcabinvillage.org

Log Cabin Village Address: 2100 Log Cabin Village Ln, Fort Worth, Texas 76109

Historical Tidbit Thursdays - The Indian Tipi - Tipi 102 - #TidbitThursday

Howdy!

Welcome back to our weekly Historical Tidbit Blog Column!


I'm really excited to be able to share my research, my favorite reference books, shows or movies I've seen that inspire, as well as my passion for history with you in a quicker and more regular way. My focus will be on my current WIP (Work in Progress) - a western romance fiction novel. So I hope you enjoy!!

The average family tipi was 18 to 20 feet in diameter utilizing 21 to 25 foot long poles. Smaller lodges used for hunting and other purposes would be 12 feet in diameter utilizing 15 foot long poles. A council lodge would be 30 feet in diameter and contained almost nothing since it was used for meetings.
Framework poles were usually made of pine or fir (strong, flexible and lightweight).
Tipis that were 12 feet in diameter used about 10 buffalo hides to cover it. Tipis that were 16 feet in diameter used about 14 hides to cover it. Poles extended 4-6 feet beyond the cover.
Tipi covers were semicircular shaped with long lapels near the middle of the straight edge.

Picture Credits: http://www.tipi.com/tipi-gallery/


Source:
"The Indian Tipi: Its History, Construction, and Use" by Reginald and Gladys Laubin
ISBN#0-8061-2236-6

Western Word of the Week - Stargazer - #WesternWordoftheWeek

Howdy!

Welcome to our Weekly Western Word of the Day...

Stargazer - a horse that carries its head high

Source:
The Cowboy Encyclopedia by Richard W Slatta; ISBN#0-87436-738-7

Western Travel - Log Cabin Village (Part Three) - Fort Worth, Texas - #TravelTuesday

Welcome to my weekly column #TravelTuesday featuring places I've discovered during my research trips or just wandering around in historical areas. I hope you enjoy my discoveries.

This week we continue our visit to the Log Cabin Village, in Fort Worth, Texas. Last week we looked at the Tompkins Cabin and making dip-candles. Today we'll head further left to the Mill and then continue through the Herb Garden.



The Grist Mill was powered by a water wheel (which still works!).



Inside the mill, our guide, Kelley, introduces us to the different types of corn available including a rare red corn that was sweeter than the yellow corn.

Kelley demonstrates how hard it was to grind the corn by hand.

There is a hand-cranked machine that shucked the corn kernels into a bucket (at the bottom).

Now, the heavy-duty mill machine. The belt (on the right) is driven by the water wheel (on the outside) that worked the machine. Lots of corn could be ground quickly. Of course, the machinery was dangerous and many families lost limbs and fingers.



Now we enter the Herb Garden just a short walk from the mill...





Some Christmas Decorations



Learn more about the village by checking out the official site - www.logcabinvillage.org

Log Cabin Village Address: 2100 Log Cabin Village Ln, Fort Worth, Texas 76109

Historical Tidbit Thursdays - The Indian Tipi - Tipi 101 - #TidbitThursday

Howdy!

Welcome back to our weekly Historical Tidbit Blog Column!

I'm really excited to be able to share my research, my favorite reference books, shows or movies I've seen that inspire, as well as my passion for history with you in a quicker and more regular way. My focus will be on my current WIP (Work in Progress) - a western romance fiction novel. So I hope you enjoy!!

 
A little history on the word "tipi". Its formed from the Sioux word "ti" meaning "to dwell or live" and the word "pi" meaning "used for". Together, "tipi" means the place used to live in.
Upon closer inspection, you will notice tipis are not flat cones but are actually tilted with the back a little steeper. This anchors it a little more sturdily against winds, even very strong winds.
There were two main styles of tipis used by Plains Indians - a three-pole style or a four-pole style. Basically, the foundation was created with the three or four long poles and then additional poles were added around building a frame upon which to attach the cover and linings. Kiowas, Sioux and Cheyenne tribes preferred the 3-pole style while Crows, Blackfeet and Comanches preferred the 4-pole style.

Picture Credits: http://www.tipi.com/tipi-gallery/


Source:
"The Indian Tipi: Its History, Construction, and Use" by Reginald and Gladys Laubin
ISBN#0-8061-2236-6

Western Word of the Week - Spinner - #WesternWordoftheWeek

Howdy!

Welcome to our Weekly Western Word of the Day...

Spinner - a bucking horse that turns in tight circles

Source:
The Cowboy Encyclopedia by Richard W Slatta; ISBN#0-87436-738-7

Western Travel - Log Cabin Village (Part Two) - Fort Worth, Texas - #TravelTuesday

Welcome to my weekly column #TravelTuesday featuring places I've discovered during my research trips or just wandering around in historical areas. I hope you enjoy my discoveries.

This week we continue our visit to the Log Cabin Village, in Fort Worth, Texas. Last week we looked at the Foster House and the Main Visitor Center at the front of the park. Now we will meander behind the Visitor Center to the left and head to the Tompkins Cabin. This one-room cabin (with a loft) was built in the early 1850's by Isaac Anderson. John and Sarah H. Tompkins rented it in 1857 and then purchased it with their crop profits in 1858. They eventually expanded the cabin as their family grew.



This particular day, country crooner Bob Sawyer was entertaining guests with cowboy folk songs and stories.

Also inside the Tompkins Cabin was a cozy fireplace and an interesting chair...



Behind the Tompkins Cabin, one of the costumed guides was demonstrating the process of making dip-candles. This process was typically done in the cooler weather and in large batches during late fall, early winter (as summer was too hot). The candles are made by dipping long pieces of string (the wick) into thick melted wax many, many times then setting it on a rack to cool and harden.




Learn more about the Tompkins family and their cabin here: www.logcabinvillage.org/tour-thompkins.html

Learn more about the village by checking out the official site - www.logcabinvillage.org

Log Cabin Village Address: 2100 Log Cabin Village Ln, Fort Worth, Texas 76109

Historical Tidbit Thursdays - The Comanches - Spirits and Magic - #TidbitThursday

Howdy!

Welcome to our newest addition to the blog - Historical Tidbit Thursdays!

The major spirits, Father-Sun, Mother-Earth, and Mother-Moon were remote and out of reach.
Comanches worshipped animals and prayed to animal spirits. Eagle spirit provided soaring strength. Deer spirit provided agility. Wolf spirit provided wise ferocity.
Every male at puberty sought his personal medicine before he took his first buffalo hunt or war trail. He sought his visions through vigils, praying, smoking tobacco or sumac leaves, fasting, singing, etc.
The owner of a spirit acquired a series of complex taboos that went along with it. For example, a hunter with the eagle spirit took on the idiosyncrasies of the great bird, such as not allowing anyone to pass behind him while he ate.
Men with the buffalo medicine/spirit prayed to the great beasts to come into their valley to hunt. After a kill, the heart was left intact inside the skeleton so that the buffalo spirit might live and replenish the plains.

Source:
Comanches: The Destruction of a People by T.R.Fehrenbach; ISBN#0-306-80586-3

Western Word of the Week - Skunk Eggs - #WesternWordoftheWeek

Howdy!

Welcome to our Weekly Western Word of the Day...

Skunk Eggs - Onions

Source:
The Cowboy Encyclopedia by Richard W Slatta; ISBN#0-87436-738-7

Western Travel - Log Cabin Village (Part One) - Fort Worth, Texas - #TravelTuesday

Welcome to my weekly column #TravelTuesday featuring places I've discovered during my research trips or just wandering around in historical areas. I hope you enjoy my discoveries.


Today we will visit the Log Cabin Village, a nice little gem hidden in Fort Worth, Texas right across from the well-known Fort Worth Zoo (one of the best in the country). It's a well-kept site featuring 11 buildings ranging from the 1840's through the 1890's. Each building is wheelchair/stroller accessible and connected via a cement walking trail.

   
Signs you will see as you drive into the village parking lot (right across from the Zoo).


In the yard lies a nice buckboard specimen. It is fenced off to keep people from climbing onto it.


You enter the village via the two-story Foster House at the front; you pay admission in the gift shop. The Foster House was built in Port Sullivan, Texas dating around the 1850s. The family and tenant farmers lived in the house until 1939. A storm damaged the roof in 1965. The house was then donated to the Log Cabin Village by relative, John William Foster, for restoration and repair.

 
Inside the Foster House you will find the 1890's style parlor containing a portrait of the original owner, Harry Foster. The rosewood piano was given to Harry's bride, Martha, in 1839. It was shipped to their house in Port Sullivan in 1859 by steamboat. The green parlor furniture (the chair in front of the fireplace and the settee against the right wall) remained in the Foster family until they were donated in 2006. The drop-leaf table on the right was also donated by the Foster family.

 
Also on display inside the Foster House is a pair of Lancaster Clogs (men's shoes), mid-late 19th century.

Learn more about the village by checking out the official site - www.logcabinvillage.org

Log Cabin Village Address: 2100 Log Cabin Village Ln, Fort Worth, Texas 76109