![]() ![]() In addition to being a great sheep-raising area, Stark County was known across the state for its horses and cattle, ranking third and seventh, respectively. Stark County farmers produced the most wheat in Ohio. Sixty-five percent of the timber had been cut and cleared and 60 percent of the land had been improved. Before long, steam engines would replace draft horses and farming would become even more efficient and a little easier for the farmer.īy 1850, agriculture in Stark County was in its heyday. ![]() Wagon- and carriage-makers built sturdy transportation for both work and pleasure.Īs the demand for agricultural products increased, manufacturers built plows to more quickly turn over soil as well as reapers, mowers, threshers, and hay rakes to speed harvesting. Wheelwrights repaired broken wagon and carriage wheels. Blacksmiths hammered out shoes for horses that pulled the plows. Not only did farm products bring about the development of many of Stark County’s businesses, but the needs of the farm and the farmer also brought about the development of many industries during the 1800’s. Most of the raw materials made into goods came from the farm. Butchers cut and dressed the meat from the farmer’s livestock. Tanners preserved cattle and sheep hides for leatherworkers to cut and sew into hats, shoes, harnesses, bridles, and saddles. As farmers produced high-yielding wheat and rye crops, distillers used surplus grains to make into whiskey, a drink enjoyed by all family members, young and old alike. ![]() Then came gristmills to grind wheat into flour. First came saw mills to cut the timber cleared for farmland. Stark County Pioneer Families Were Farmersįarming had been the mainstay of the pioneer families who moved to Stark County in the early 1800’s and as farming grew, so did various industries to support it. And most of that work centered on agriculture. A time when most families survived by the work of their hands. A time (in 1850) when Canton was a growing village boasting a population of 2,603 and 225 dwellings. A time when transportation was by foot, on horseback, or in a horse-drawn wagon or carriage. Step back in time to Stark County in the mid-1800’s when women dressed in long skirts, bustles, and high-buttoned shoes and men wore trousers, stiff collars, and stove-pipe hats, when little boys pulled on knickers and stockings and young girls donned petticoats and aprons. ![]()
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