Living Off the Land Marker

Living Off the Land Marker. Historic Ethel Trail. The early settler's diet consisted largely of pork, beef, fish, game, grits, sweet potatoes, butter, a little milk, and syrup. Flour could be bought at the local store, but ground, dried acorns were added to make it go further. Sweet potatoes would be dried in the sun, ground, and then used as a coffee substitute. Many of the wild plants the early settlers foraged for are still present in the park, but it is now illegal to pick them. , For early settlers, life was very hard. Cabins were small and primitive and had no running water or electricity. People worked from before dawn to dusk and had to fend for themselves, becoming skilled at foraging, hunting, and fishing. Furniture and clothing were often homemade as money was scarce, and a trip into the nearest town, Sanford, by ox cart could take two days., (captions) , Two elderly men gardening c. 1900. Florida Memory. , Mary Frazier husking corn. Source. East Lake Historical Society , The women and girls churned cow's milk to make butter. , Homesteader returning with supplies. Source. Florida Memory