Early Tennessee Settlers: Creating a New Culture

Life in a Colony vs. Life on the Frontier Many of the people who settled what we now call Tennessee came from colonies in Virginia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. Many of these colonies had become like cities and were very different from the frontier wilderness. These pioneers left the colonies with very little in hopes of finding a better life in a less crowded area.

Living Quarters When the pioneers moved to Tennessee, they built one room log cabins from the trees they cut down to clear the land. Most of the time the nearest neighbor was miles away. People who lived in the large colonies lived in houses with wooden siding or, if they were wealthy, brick. The houses were very close together.

Clothing Settlers who lived on the Frontier usually made their own clothes. Many times they would even weave Their own cloth. They also dyed the material to make it different colors. It would usually take at least a year to make a new article of clothing. Those living in the large colonies usually wore both store bought clothes and a few hand-made items. Because they lived closer to the harbors where goods came into the country, their clothes were made out of different materials they did not have to make.

Working Basically everyone who Moved to the Tennessee Frontier became farmers and hunters. Those who had special skills would use them to make things they needed. People who lived in the large colonies often had jobs as artisans (skilled workers) or laborers. A few people worked as farmers, but most had jobs in town.

Celebrations Colonists living in the larger colonies Celebrated holidays by having dinner parties and dances. Everyone would dress in his finest clothes to attend these celebrations. Settlers on the Frontier celebrated holidays by Being with family and Neighbors. They also Celebrated special holidays by “shooting the anvil.” They Would put gunpowder Underneath a blacksmith anvil And light it to shoot the anvil Into the air.

Although the people who settled the first frontier had difficult lives, they loved living there. It was not nearly as crowded and they were able to own their own land. The new culture they created still exists today in many places in Tennessee and is celebrated by places, such as the Museum of Appalachia.