A Working Yard

A Working Yard. . Settler families like the Laniers were self-sufficient and frugal. In the yards of their homes, they grew vegetables, washed clothes, smoked meats, and performed other tasks. Secondary structures such as smokehouses, washhouses, and outhouses were typical of rural homesteads in the early 1900s. Often settlers enclosed their small yards with fences to keep wildlife away from their homes. , , What’s for Dinner? , Settlers hunted for fresh game and grew essential vegetables in their yards or small-patch farms. Meat was usually eaten the day it was killed, but in the case of pork, it was often smoked to cure it. To preserve beef, pork, and other wild game, settlers lit small fires on the dirt floors of smokehouses to dry out the hanging meat. Lightweight and convenient, smoked jerky was a staple of cowmen on the cattle drives. , , Outdoor Conveniences , Interior plumbing and fresh water were not common in rural homes until the 1930s, which meant pioneers went outside to bathe, wash clothes, and use the privy. Water was pumped from a well or water tank as needed. The laundry was typically done once a week by boiling water and scrubbing garments in lye soap. Outhouses were traditionally located close to the house, but not too close, to the house., (captions) , Potato Field Postcard circa 1910 , In 1899, the Kissimmee Valley Gazette reported that Raymond Lanier shipped 54 barrels of potatoes. Image courtesy of Mike Bast, Members of Lanier Family circa 1920 , Young children (unidentified) pose in the Lanier yard near a water trough. Courtesy Osceola County Historical Society