Students Visit Carter Historic Farm

On September 11, TRECA Digital Academy visited Carter Historic Farm in Bowling Green, OH. 

Carter Historic Farm is a Great Depression-era working farm and living history center focused on the agricultural and rural experiences in Wood County, Ohio. Students split into groups to learn about life on the farm. We toured the farmhouse, comparing the historic household with modern-day conveniences. The radio, for example, broadcasted important “fireside chats” from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during the Great Depression that helped restore the faith of Americans across the country. Cloth was expensive, so brightly-printed feedbags were used to make clothing, curtains, and linens for the family. 

Students also helped complete the morning chores, like getting fresh water for chickens and feeding sheep. After a short trip on a tractor-powered wagon ride, we visited the one-room Zimmerman schoolhouse. A single wood stove sat in the center of the room to provide warmth to the wide age range of students. With paper and pencils scarce in the early 1900's, students used small chalkboards for their lessons. After touring the schoolhouse, students took a ride through the wetlands and woods nearby, learning about the restoration of the Black Swamp and the ecosystem that thrives there.