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Most of the documentation on Frontier life is written by men and about men. Women were secondary to their male counterparts. They learned to read and write far less than their brothers. They spent more time raising a family, and feeding and clothing that family.
The weekend event Women on the Frontier was started at Fort Boonesborough in 2004 as a means to examine a woman’s life and to acquaint women reenactors with the skills and life chores of a female in the 18th century.
This year concentrated on clothing a family - preparing the flax, spinning, weaving and dying the fabric. Also on hand was a demonstration on salt making - the premier way to store meat on the frontier.
Women and visitors to the fort were treated to these events of a women’s llife. In the evening a first person presentation of the story of Eva Lail a frontier survivor of Ruddles Station was performed by living historian Bonnie Strassel. The performance came after a dinner of frontier fare - Kentucky Burgoo.
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