Grassy Run Rendezvous

It's pretty awesome to live in an area where so much recorded history took place. Over half my life was lived in Illinois, otherwise known as The Land of Lincoln. And there, it seemed, popular history certainly began and ended with the great orator, statesman and president. I grew up loving New Salem and the Metamora Courthouse, and felt properly solemn and awed when visiting Lincoln's tomb and his home in Springfield. But there is so much more to the early American frontier story. 

(Originally from the Narragansett area of Rhode Island, I sadly was too little to realize and enjoy the extremely rich history of that area before I moved with my family to the midwest. I gotta go back there someday.)

I love southern Ohio because there is so much history here, too. And it's not Lincoln. It's new and different and so interesting and delightful to me. It's as close as down the road, or across the ravine in a grassy field. It's the thin roads threading through the hills and the little cemeteries with stones too worn to read. It's the river and the huge, old trees along the shore and the crumbled remains of stone foundations. It's the 200 year old buildings that are still standing, still in use, still beautiful and proud and mellowed with time and the lives that have played out within their walls. I live in such a beautiful place. 

There are quite a few pockets of local historians who are actively keeping history alive. It's been a huge enjoyment to meet them and to talk with them and to hear their stories. This past weekend the kiddos went out to the Grassy Run rendezvous and spent a fun time learning about earlier days. Here are some pictures in no particular order. We had such a great time! I can't remember the last time I spent such a happy weekend.

Grassy Run is the name of a so-called battle that occurred near here between white settlers and Native Americans in 1792. It was a small encounter but resulted in deaths on both sides, unfortunately. The history of the Native nations that lived here and were driven out by whites is extremely painful and tense. I am really grateful to these historians who share the history of their culture with others.

The kids enjoyed all sorts of activities. Here, they are making a pattern in tin with a nail and hammer. 

Then they used a two man cross cut saw to cut through a log. It took them a while to get through it!

Then they made rope. I had never seen rope being made before and it was a really interesting process. Three guys were required to operate the machine. Malachi here is waiting to crank it. David held the end of the twine and Judah held the paddle. 

They visited the vendors, of course. They each had a little bit of money they could use to buy something and Anne got a wooden dinosaur with hers. She loves dinosaurs. Benjamin proudly walked around with the gun that Judah bought (he got his own, too, but preferred to use his beloved "Jew-Ah's")

A few days before the event I had been out in the woods with the babies and we had seen pools of wiggly black tadpoles. Anne wanted to see if the tadpoles were still there so we took a little walk to visit the big puddles. 

There weren't very many left, but some were still there. 

Anne and Benjamin decided to wade out in the warm water. Benjamin fell down and got soaked. He was so mad. Poor little dude! 

But back at the Cherokee camp he was consoled with candy. 

And he and Anne found some flowers to pick. 

Here is me and my girlies! I didn't really have an appropriate era dress to wear (except my white Vernet dress, which I didn't want to ruin with all the mud!) so I am not really dressed appropriately at all. For next year I think I will make a 1780's or 1790's dress. Not sure yet. But definitely something 18th century. 

The Boone Frocks worked out great for the littles. Of course they were covered in filth by the end of the day but washed up no problem. 

Malachi and Anne tried their hand at grinding corn. I asked them how long it would take to grind enough for a skillet of cornbread. Malachi said it would take too long. 

We didn't want to leave when it was over but of course all good things come to and end. Only, it's not really an end, but rather a new beginning! We can't wait to go back next year!

Love,

Sarah

The Ubiquitous "Boone Frock"

In recent need (want, actually, but its more or less the same thing right? Especially when demanded by a rather pampered little three year old girl?) of a quick rendezvous-appropriate dress (for the aforementioned pampered three year old) I remembered often hearing about a simple little shift style dress from experienced ladies who focused on that era of American history. They called it the Boone Frock and the name stuck in my memory.

My interest in this kind of dress grew and waned as my costuming ADD ran its course unchecked throughout the early years of having babies and bringing them out to reenactments. I never made one though. Until now. I actually accomplished the amazing (for me) feat of sewing three of these little dresses within a 24 hour period. Wow! Go, me! 

I found it really hard to find much information about the origin of this dress, though. I wanted to know more! Why was it called a Boone frock? What time period was this style worn in? A little googling revealed that the main pattern for this dress was produced by Period Impressions, one of the older historic pattern companies. 

In their description they claimed that the dress was based on one worn by Daniel Boone's niece but no further information was given. I finally was able to find the real, original Boone Frock dress on the Kentucky Historical Society website. It's so cute!

The description states: 

"Date ca. 1782. This is a child's blue and white dotted cotton dress. It has a drawstring neckline with a tie at the front and the back. The dress is made of four panels of fabric, and the dress has short sleeves. Notes The old card for this artifact reads, "Blue and white dotted dress worn by Betsey Grant, niece of Daniel Boone, as she came with her parents on the journey from North Carolina to Bryan's Station. Daniel Boone's niece wore this dress at the raid of Bryan's Station.""

I'd really like a closer look at this dress. The hem on the sleeves and skirt look machine sewn, to me. What appears to me to be machine hemming could be a few other things, though, so for now I will take their word for it that this is the real ca. 1782 deal. 

I also found a few other similarly styled dresses, all from the same general late 18th/early 19th century period. This one is from the Met Museum, dated to the early 19th century. It has the short sleeved, waistless silhouette although it lacks the fullness of the KHS dress. 

This one is also from the Met: 

This one is from Vintage Textile, also having a waistless design, but with long sleeves that appear to be sewn in underneath short ones. This one is dated to the 1820's. This also  has a drawstring in the neck. 

This one is from the now-unavailable childrens clothing collection from the Wisconsin Historical Society. 

I made my versions using what I know about early 19th century clothing cut and construction. I don't think my version is an exact replica of any particular dress but it is based very much on rectangular construction and has characteristics that are commonly found on other dresses of the era, including:

• drawstring neckline
• shoulder straps that are sewn on instead of cut-on
• sleeves cut similarly to extant late 18th/early 19th century dresses without the 18th century S-shaped sleeve head

 The one here is Benjamin's, which I made using the leftover fabric from his big brothers new shirt. I took a bunch of photos when making these so eventually will post a tutorial of how I made them. 

The two dress panels are cut as rectangles. The top edges are hemmed narrowly with narrow tape strings running from the sides to a center eyelet, to pull up the fullness. 

The sleeves have the ease taken up at the back with two little pleats. I could have just lightly gathered the sleeve, too, but pleats are quicker. ;)

I'm really happy with how fast these were to make and the size flexibility. Such a useful, practical garment for little ones. I'd love to find out more about this style such as how long this style was worn, if this style spanned classes or was unique to one or the other and what kind of undergarments were worn. 

Now, to make the three year olds new cap and help her bead a necklace to go with her new dress. 

Love,

Sarah