| Byway
Highlight
At
the Hale Farm & Village you can spend an entire day reliving the
past. Board the train for a ride through the park to Hale Farm and
Village, a living history museum depicting mid-19th century life in
the Western Reserve. View crafts people demonstrating glassblowing,
pottery making, spinning, weaving and other trades. Watch the farmer
work and tend his oxen. Also visit the restored homes where
interpreters in costume discuss and present daily life of the
mid-1800's. A restaurant, museum shop and picnic area are available.
For Special Events and Hale Farm information call 1-800-589-9703
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Wheatfield
Village:
Wheatfield is a recreated village set in the year 1848. It
is populated by costumed role players portraying the typical
inhabitants of a small town in northeast Ohio in 1848.
Buildings were relocated from all over northeast Ohio to Hale
Farm and Village and set around a village green.
Wheatfield never really existed, but very realistically shows
what life was like in small town Ohio in the year 1848.
This is a look at the objects, tools and materials that the
people of Wheatfield use in their everyday life. In
1848...James Polk is President...Ohio is the fifth largest
state...ice cream and oysters are all the rage...gold is
discovered in the California Territory...the Mexican War just
ended...the Ohio Canal is almost 20 years old...Wisconsin is
admitted as the thirtieth state..."Oh Susanna" is
performed...the first women's rights convention is held in
Seneca Falls, New York...all in the year 1848.
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The Hale House
was built by Jonathan Hale between 1825 and 1827. It is a
three story brick home and was one of only two all brick
buildings in the Cuyahoga Valley at the time of its construction.
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In
1810, Jonathan Hale, a farmer from Glastonbury, Connecticut,
settled here in the Cuyahoga Valley with his young family. After
living in a small cabin for fifteen years, he used material from
his property, like clay and lime for bricks, and lumber to build
a three-story brick house. Three generations of his family
lived in this home and farmed the property.
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In 1956
his great-granddaughter, Clara Belle Ritchie bequeathed the farm
to the Western Reserve Historical Society. It was
specified in her will the Society was "to establish the
Hale Farm as a museum, open to the public to the end that the
greatest number of persons may be informed as to the history and
culture of the Western Reserve." Doors opened to the
public in 1958.
Some Interesting
Facts:
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Today the
museum spans over 140 acres of land located within the Cuyahoga
Valley National Park.
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There is a
full-time staff of 25 and a seasonal staff of 50.
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Hale Farm &
Village annual attendance is over 80,000,
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Over 35,000
school children visit Hale Farm & Village annually.
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Summit
County, Ghent Woolen Mill: The
Ghent Woolen Mill (3542 Granger Road in Bath, Ohio) was built in
1832 to process wool textiles for area farmers. At its peak, the
mill processed 10,000 pounds of wool each year. Henry Pardee
bought the mill around 1875 and became known for the
"Hammerstein process" used to manufacture goods that
were waterproof and resistant to heat and cold. In 1889, the
mill was converted into a machine shop with living quarters.
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