Connecticut Life in the 1770s

In colonial days, West Hartford was known as the West Division of Hartford. By the 1770s, the town was 100 years old. Most homes, shops and schools were on the Main Street. The church (called the meeting house), town green, and burying yard were in the town center.

The town had blacksmiths, schoolmasters, doctors, weavers, shoemakers, a minister, farmers, cabinetmakers, millers, servants and merchants. Some of the African-Americans who lived in town were slaves (called servants) and some were free. Most were farmers and some practiced trades. People traded with each other for the goods or services they needed. Even children were part of this trading. Many families had 5 or 6 children. Parents needed them to work in the house and on the farm. People without children sometimes "borrowed" their neighbors' children for extra help. Boys learned by helping men with chores on the farm. They cleared land, built fences, butchered animals, and split wood. They also planted, cared for and harvested crops like flax, corn, oats, and barley. Most boys grew up to farm land and work at skills like weaving and shoe making. Some, like Noah, went to college to study law or the ministry. Others became merchants who ran shops. Some became apprentices who learned trades like blacksmithing and printing. Women trained girls to be wives and mothers by having them help around the house. Girls helped with cooking, preserving food, caring for children, cleaning the house, washing clothes and gardening. They milked cows, churned butter and made cheese. Girls' work was important to cloth making. After the men and boys grew flax and sheared sheep, girls and single women did the spinning, knitting, sewing, and sometimes weaving. Girls spun wool and flax so that it could be woven into fabric or knitted into socks, hats, scarves, and mittens. They usually brought yarn to weavers to have cloth woven and they used the cloth to make clothing and sacks. Girls sewed by hand, with strong, tiny stitches that would hold clothes together during washing and years of wear. Most girls became wives and mothers who worked on the farm and in the house. Some became midwives, servants, tavernkeepers, or school mistresses. Girls could not go to college. Many people turned their work into games, or told stories and sang to help pass time. They had contests to see who could spin fastest or carry the most wood. Games taught children how to solve problems, use their hands, follow rules, and be fair. Work and play taught them a lot, but children also went to school to learn ciphering, reading, and writing.

Just like us, colonists played and worked hard and counted on others to get goods and services needed to live comfortably.