Early Life on the Moland Farm

Early Life on the Moland Farm. . Unfortunately, there are few contemporary descriptions of the area at that time. The local “Scotch-Irish” of the 18th century were not as concerned with keeping records of their daily activities as they were with keeping records of their financial matters.

The Moland House , W.W.H. Davis in his second edition of The History of Bucks County (1905) includes a description of the Moland House: , “Washington quartered in the farmhouse of John Moland, then lately deceased” , “a substantial stone dwelling…in good preservation.” , “As when Washington occupied it, the first floor of the main building is divided into two rooms with entry near the kitchen; the larger room being on the south (west) side and entered from the porch the smaller back. The latter is thought to have been used by Washington as an office, the larger a reception room. In each there was a open fireplace and then as now a door opened into the kitchen. , The historian William J. Buck writing about the Moland House in the first article that was published on the Neshaminy Encampment claims it was the “Best finished house in the neighborhood” at the time of the Revolution.

The Moland Farm , In the late colonial period (1750-80) the average family farm in the settled rural areas covered 125 acres with three acres containing the house, barn, and other out-building; 44% of the remaining land in plowed fields, meadows and orchards; 16% in pasture and the final 40% in woodlots.

Seventy-five percent of Bucks County farmsteads were above fifty acres-the minimum acreage considered sufficient for sustaining a family.

The April 1761 inventory of goods and chattel in the estate of John Moland provides us with some interesting insight regarding his country farm. The following items were listed in the inventory: , Slaves, cattle and farm implements - support an assumption that the Moland properties were actively being farmed. , Four spinning wheels - suggest that either flax was grown, sheep herded, or both , A still - which suggests the making of distilled spirits

The Well House , The little 1850 house southeast of the Moland House, features a very unusual cove shape at the roofline. The well house was probably used for food preparation and canning, with shelves on the walls, a stove chimney in the rear and a ladder leading up to a loft.

The well itself was protected by a roof structure open on two sides and supported by the stone wall extension on the south wall.

The basement, accessible through the large padlocked door to the right, was used as a root cellar and features a very attractive vaulted stone ceiling. Of special note are the ventilation shafts that rise from the basement with their openings visible just under the eaves. Using this ventilation technique the homeowner was better able to keep the food from spoiling.