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Saturday, March 30, 2013

Chesser Homestead

While we were are Okefenokee National Wildlife Preserve, we took the Swamp Island Drive and stopped at the Chesser Homestead.
In the late 1880's W.T. Chesser and his family settled in the eastern area of the Okefenokee Swamp.  Over time, they had seven children, two of which stayed in the area.  In 1927, Tom Chesser built a homestead which is one display today.
It gives some insight into what life was like in the days before the Depression in a place a long way from the nearest town.  The house is quite impressive as are the grounds with many different facets.

Seems to me that this was a big house after all the additions.
There was a small living room, two bedrooms, one with a sewing table set up.
The kitchen had a nice stove and a large table.  Looked like they had a fair amount of room.
Outside, they built a number of functional areas:
Smoke House and Storage Shed; Work Area and Syrup Making Vat; Mounted Hand Crank Drill Press
Sugar Cane Mill, Hog Pen, Chicken Yard and Coop, Vegetable Garden
I took one last photo of the back side of the house before we departed.  The Chesser Homestead is one of the more well done displays we have seen of how life once was.

Thanks for checking out the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Until next time...

9 comments:

  1. You are correct that many of the conservation areas, and National parks have a tendency of throwing a hodgepodge of artifacts donated to them into one display. Problem is a lot of that Stuff does not fit in the era they are trying to depict. We've also been to a few where they said it was this person's home and that person's home but fifteen buildings later the construction and artifacts all seemed the same. Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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    1. We went back today and talked with the docent who spoke on this very subject and assured us the home was authentic and the contents we true to the year group of the house.

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  2. Looks like a great place...wish we were there...

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    1. It is really well done and one that I am glad we visited. Today we took the guided tour. More on that later but that was great!

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  3. I do enjoy these old homesteads even if everything isn't absolutely authentic. It is nice to have a bit of education about that and next time I visit I'll try to pay more attention to things that might be out of place. One of my favorite homes like this was the one at the lighthouse in Key West. I would bet you two have been there.

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    1. That is one we saved for another time. Now we'll have to put that one on the list when we return in a couple years? We are planning on next winter in the West and Southwest.

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  4. I always enjoy looking at old houses and seeing how differently they lived. It was a much simpler time and they didn't have nearly as much stuff as we all do now.

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  5. The Chesser family is still very involved with the Homestead. They have helped maintain the originality of the home's interior.

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