Vigo County Historical Society

Wash day arduous in 1800s

One of the attractions at Pioneer Days at Fowler Park his weekend is the Vigo County Historical Society’s "Wash Day" display in the basement of the Village Barn.

If the designated washer of clothing in today’s family looks upon this task with dread, he or she only has to step back 150 years to see what a grueling chore the pioneer housewife faced.

In the 1820s and 40s, the first step was the making of lye soap. Using a simple description, this was a time-consuming process involving putting wooden ashes with water over rocks and straw in a wooden leach barrel with a small opening near the base for the water to leach through.

Water was boiled in an iron pot over an opening fire, then poured into a wooden tub similar to the one pictured. After the clothes were put in the soapy water, they were handled with a wooden forked paddle or scrubbed on a planked or sawed ridged board. Even more primitive methods used in the 1830s and 40s consisted of washing clothing in a stream and rubbing them on a section of log covered with bark.

After clothing was removed from the water, it was hung to dry on wooden fences or tree limbs. White pieces of clothing were often laid over grass or leaves as the chlorophyll helped whiten the clothing. In winter, the clothes usually froze before being brought into the house.

The actual primitive barrel and postick pictured as this week’s Historical Treasure were given to the society by Albert Richardson in 1996.

While at Fowler Park this weekend, plan to stop at the Village Barn to see the "Wash Day" display as well as examples from their quilt collection. The clothing and washing material from the mid-1800s will amuse, enlighten and produce an increased appreciation of the technology that eases "Blue Monday" wash day cares today.