This photograph shows a group of hops pickers in the nineteenth century. They are sitting on a box that holds the hops they picked. Men usually took down the poles on which the hops grew, and women usually picked the flowers from the vine.
Archives
Letter from Hinds & Allen, Hops Dealers
During the mid to late nineteenth century, hops were a major cash crop for New York State, especially central New York. Often farmers who sold hops sold them to hops dealers, who then sold them to brewing companies for beer or other customers. Hinds & Allen were hops dealers from Cooperstown, New York, who sold New York hops to customers all across the United States.
1875 Census — Wedderspoon Family
James Wedderspoon was an influential farmer in Otsego County, New York, in the late nineteenth century. His family farm was located near Cooperstown. The Wedderspoon farm grew hops, which was a major cash crop for New York State at that time. The 1875 New York State census shows what the Wedderspoon farm was worth and what was growing on the farm in 1874 and 1875.
Western View of Poughkeepsie, New York
The taverns that were visited most frequently were those that were near a major intersection on land or on water. Steamboat travel up and down the rivers, including the Hudson River, was important to the waterfront businesses. Barge transportation brought many people through central New York during the mid-nineteenth century.
New Cow Barn, Fenimore Farm
The Main Barn at The Farmers’ Museum began as a cow barn at Fenimore Farm, owned by Edward Severin Clark. The stone barn had stanchions for eighty cows, enameled stalls, two silos for hay and grain storage, and a separate stone creamery for processing the milk. The barn’s grand opening included a celebration on June 15, 1918. Edward Severin Clark is standing in the middle with a cane.
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Celebration for the Opening of the New Cow Barn (Fenimore Farm)
The grand opening of the new cow barn at Fenimore Farm included a sit-down dinner for 150 people. Guests sat at tables with white linens in the central aisle of the milking stalls on the first floor of the barn.