 |
Thomas Worthington employed a number of tenants for a variety of reasons. Some of them managed his gristmills, sawmills, distilleries, and cattle operations. They lived in Worthington’s houses in various parts of Ross and Madison Counties, while other lived on the Adena farm where they took care of his merino sheep, tended the orchards and gardens, cleaned the land, planted and harvested crops. Some of the occupants were craftsmen, such as George McCormick, who made furniture and did woodworking in the mansion.
A number of the Worthington tenants were immigrants from Germany.
Pioneers and tenant farmers used every available material to survive. They often made their own brooms, using special broom corn grown for that purpose. Buckets, bowls, spoons, and utensils were made from wood. The straw left over after the grain crops were harvested was not thrown away but used to stuff mattresses, makes hats, and floor mats.
Little was wasted. Old clothing was torn into strips and sewed into quilts or woven into rugs. The work of the tenant was hard and the tasks carried out by them were varied; however their work was necessary in the operation of the Adena Estate.
|
|
Adena Mansion and Gardens
Thomas Worthington & Family
Tecumseh
The Old Northwest Territory
Ohio Statehood
Great Seal of the State of Ohio
Benjamin Latrobe
|
|
Call us at 
Adena Mansion & Gardens Society manages this site on behalf of the Ohio History Connection.