Editing Woodford County, Illinois (section)

===Pioneer life===
[[File:Conner-prairie-log-cabin-interior.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Interior of a replica 1836 prairie log cabin, in [[Fishers, Indiana]]]]
The first settlers of Woodford County occupied crude [[log cabin]]s. Windows were covered with oiled papers; doors and floors were constructed of rough boards split from trees and held together with wooden pegs. Construction of the cabins was primitive, with the floor plan generally involving a single room heated with a fireplace.

Meat was frequently roasted on a spit; cornbread was generally baked on the fireplace coals. A common staple of pioneer life was [[waffle]]s, baked from batter in a folding iron mold three or four feet long. Modern canning processes were unknown and the wintertime larder consisted primarily of bread and meat. Vegetables were consumed seasonally, with pumpkin, red peppers, corn, and venison dried for later use.

Clothing was made at home, generally of [[linen]] made from homegrown [[flax]]. In addition, other heavier compound fabrics known as "[[linsey-woolsey|linsey]]," made of linen or cotton with woolen filling, and "jeans," made of an even heavier material and dyed brown with [[walnut]] bark, were also used.

Prior to 1831 all preparation of [[wool]] had to be done by hand at home, with the raw fiber "carded" between pairs of thin, metal spiked boards about 4 inches wide and a foot long. The resulting rolls of wool were then spun into thread upon a [[spinning wheel]] and thereby prepared for the [[loom]].<ref>Radford 1877, pp. 29–34.</ref>

A sexual division of labor was practiced, with women engaged in home manufactures and food preparation while men were occupied with agriculture, hunting, and construction. Since a great percentage of the land of Woodford County was tillable, farming was the principal occupation of the early settlers. Plowing was by means of wooden plows with iron shares; corn was planted by hand and covered using a [[hoe (tool)|hoe]]. [[Hay]], often using wild rather than cultivated grass, was cut with a [[scythe]] and taken up with rakes and [[pitchforks]].<ref>Radford 1877, pp. 40–45.</ref>

With the advent of timber milling in the area, frame houses became possible. Settlers cooperated in construction, helping one another raise houses and barns. The latter could be 30 feet in length and width with walls perhaps 16 feet high. "It was heavy and dangerous work, and the raising of a large barn required the united energies of a whole community," one settler recalled. Other buildings commonly constructed included stables, corn-cribs, smokehouses, and ash-hoppers. Plank fences began to appear in the 1850s.<ref>Radford 1877, pp. 35–42.</ref>

Governance by the early settlers was not by secret ballot, but by voice vote.<ref>Radford 1877, p. 36</ref>