Bicentennial farm
[Continued from Page 16]
(iter a 108 day sea voyage from Ireland. To top off the nearly
'tour-month ordeal, his vessel arrived here shipwrecked.
The land now owned by Major Wilson and his family was
originally given to Humphrey via a grant from the king.
Some of the property has been sold off, due to economic
conditions. But Wilson, who is a retired Army officer, and his
wife still own the original homestead and 120 acres. The
property is a source of pride to both and they heartily
proclaim that they intend to preserve the land as a farm for
as long as possible. “We hate to see houses come up this
way,” the Major said. “There’s a sense of pride you ex
perience from living on a place like this which gives you a
special continuity of history,” Mrs. Wilson added. She has
spent numerous hours doing research on old family records
and has become very much involved in retaining the look and
flavor of the past in her home.
Acknowledging that they have had no easy task, the
Wilsons continue to resist the pressures faced by all farmers -
be they southern or northern. Land in this areals selling for
as much as some of the better parcels in Lancaster County.
The Wilsons’ home is an old log house which dates back to
the American Revolution. Its 14-inch logs insulate and
protect well, but have been quite a problem for contractors
whom the Wilsons have hired in the past to do some
Cemodeling. “The logs are hard as nails,” Wilson explained,
dding that it cost the contractor several saw blades before
he could cut through one of the massive old lengths of timber.
Besides the old logs, the house at one time also featured
hand-blown glass. Still a part of the structure are the hand
hewn nails and some pressed wood shavings for insulation.
Knowledgeable in the antique field, Wilson claims he can tell
the difference between nails which were forged in either
Connecticut or Pennsylvania.
As is typical of old homes, the quaint Wilson house
originally had a minimum of closet and window space. A
curiosity about the home is that it has three variations of
levels on the first floor - a feature which the Wilsons claim is
probably unique m all of Harford County.
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Major and Mrs. Tom Wilson cherish their
heritage, their farm, and their beef cattle.
In addition to the house, the living style of 19th Century
America included a smoke house, ice house, and soring
house. Noting that all homes were built close to springs in
those days, the Major pointed out that a hand-dug well is also
on the property. It’s lined with stones for 40 feet up. The
spring house - like most all spring houses - was used for the
cooling of milk and butter as well as obtaining water. The ice
house was still in use when Wilson was a young man and he
vividly recollects the hard work involved in filling it. Covered
with a layer of sawdust, the ice would keep until mid
summer of the following year.
“Smoke and salt was the way to preserve meat in those
days,” the Major announced. It was something he himself
could remember from his childhood.
A far different recollection of the family - although it pre
dates the Major’s own lifetime - is that of an actual hanging
that took place just across from the Wilson farm. That was
the fate of a horse thief.
Also remembered by Wilson is the Christmas season the
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way it was when servants were still a part of the household.
Servants were customarily allowed as much time off as the
old Yule log would burn in their employer’s fireplace.
Amazingly enough, the old log would bum for two weeks -
thanks to it having been thoroughly soaked in water for
several weeks prior.
The rustic, well-kept bam remains largely empty as far as
livestock is concerned, although the Major and his wife
maintain a herd of 20-some beef cattle. Both take great
pleasure in working with the animals and address each one
by name whenever the occasion calls for it.
like most bams which have been around for as long as this
one (1860), the cavernous structure features immense hand
hewn logs, wooden pegs, and a slate roof. The latter was
especially common in this area since the slate mine at Delta,
Pa., was just a short distance away. Wooden stanchions still
remain intact in the stable.
Formerly a tobacco and dairy farm, the Wilson property is
now partially farmed by North Harford High School and a
cousin of the Major.
Both of Wilson’s grandfathers fought in the Civil War, and
interestingly enough, on opposite sides. Several old
documents from the war are displayed in the Wilson home.
“Those were hard times - not much to come and go on,” the
Major sighed in remembrance of the stories he heard about
the Civil War. The family here could hear the booming of the
cannons in Gettysburg, located less than 50 miles (direct air
measurement) to the west-northwest.
One of Wilson’s grandfathers used to peddle produce in
Baltimore, an undertaking which took up to a full day from
pre-dawn until long after dark. Oftentimes not returning
home until the following day, he’d return home with goods for
the family to use.
When roads were built, the land required for the project
was gladly donated by fanners who were to be connected by
the new traffic network. “They were glad to get out of the
mud,” the Major explained with an accompanying smile. But
the new roads weren’t as much appreciated during the
Winter when each farmer had to shovel his own share. It was
manual labor all the way, and the Major can remember
having been payed 10 cents an hour for it. “But that was when
you could buy two pounds of butter for 49 cents,” his wife
added.
Goods were often transported by sled during the winter,
and the fields were the right-of-ways. Also of significant
importance to the transportation picture here decades ago
was the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad, or the “Ma
and Pa” for short.
Today the railroad is just a memory. A state road carries
traffic swiftly. But some of the relics of an era gone by
continue to be found from time to time.
Among the findings the Wilsons have uncovered are pieces
and parts of old farm machinery, and grave markers with
just a single name on them. It’s preseumed that these
referred to slaves, as the blacks were only known by their
first names.
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[Continued from Page ij
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