Baby Animals: Goats
Quiet Valley's farm museum has several kid goats born every spring. There are few things cuter than baby goats! Goats were one of the first animals domesticated by mankind about 10,000 years ago. They are used for meat, milk, hides, and even as a way to clear brush from hilly ground. Cities, like Los Angeles, hire companies to bring in goats to graze on the steep slopes of highway entrance and exit ramps that are too dangerous for lawnmower use. Goats are very agile and browse on almost any kind of plant material. The farmers in past times could use goats to clear brushy land that they wanted to turn into pastures. Other farm animals could then graze on the grass that would grow in the goat cleared pastures. Goats can thrive on vegetation that cows, horses, and sheep cannot.
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The history of goats in North America began with the arrival of Spanish explorers and settlers in the 1500s. English settlers brought a few goats to New England and Virginia beginning in the 1600s. These two types accounted for most of the goats found in North America until the time of the Civil War.
Baby Animals: Sheep
The history of the domesticated sheep goes back to between 11000 and 9000 BC, and the domestication of the wild mouflon in ancient Mesopotamia. Sheep along with goats are among the first animals to have been domesticated by humans, and there is evidence of sheep farming in Iranian statuary dating to that time period. These sheep were primarily raised for meat, milk, and skins. Over the last decade there has been a resurgence of interest in the fiber arts and that includes spinning, and weaving of wool as well as knitting.
Schoolhouse Morning Exercises
One of our favorite places on the farm is the One Room School House! Join our schoolmarm (that's what we call female schoolteachers) to learn about the school day and some of the exercises students would have experienced in 1893.
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During our summer tours, there are several opportunities during the day to visit the one-room school and learn what it would have been like for the children attending. You may be surprised by what is still similar to schools today and what is not. Did you know a schoolmarm could not be married while she was a teacher?
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Our one-room school teachers, like Miss Miller, take pride in their accurate portrayals and knowledge of one-room schools of the 19th century. Come out to Quiet Valley and enjoy a visit to the past.