William harris homestead

I got to go on a field trip with Alyssa to the William Harris homestead. It was so interesting. I think that I enjoyed it more than any of the 4th graders. The homestead is located in Monroe, GA. We learned from the great-great-great-great grandaughter of William, Dottie, that their homesite was just 17 miles away from Sherman's carnage.

We learned about life in the early 1800's. We saw the smoke house, the fresh water spring, the cellar, and the garden. We learned that the garden was the pharmacy. We learned that a plant called lambs ear was used as a bandaid. We saw how they made their own candles. It was interesting to listen to the kids coments as she explained how they dipped the candles over and over to get them big enough to use. One little girl standing next to me said she would just stick the string in the pot and leave it there until the candles were done. The lady patiently explained that it was the act of dipping, cooling and dipping again that made the candle grow. The kids couldn't fathem the time required to make one candle.

We learned what life was like for a civil war soldier. We even got to watch him shoot the gun.

They had a man that trained border collies. He showed us how the dog could round up the sheep.

We sat in the families cemetary as we learned about the hardships of having children in that time period. It was sad to see the grave stone carved for 9 children that didn't survive more than a few months in this life.

I came away greatful to have been born in this day and age, and greatful for those people who take the time to preserve history. I loved being there with Alyssa and her friends and taking a look back in time.