'ToolsDay'-Barrel Butter Churn

Happy Toolsday, Folks!

Hello readers! I’m Carlie, and I’m the Agricultural Exhibit Designer at the Backus-Page House Museum. Throughout the summer, I'll be sorting through various tools in our Barn to get ready for the exhibit! Every Tuesday I’ll be sharing some of what I learned on our blog!

This week I’m focusing on an object that I would have used a lot- The Barrel Butter Churn!

Today, we use butter in almost every meal. We spread it on toast, use it in baking, drizzle it on our popcorn, etc. We take advantage of the fact that it's readily available at stores. Unfortunately, in the 1800s, butter wasn't as easily available, and it wouldn't have been used so extensively. 

Instead of buying it, families would need to churn their own butter. Churning is the process of agitating a liquid, typically milk or cream, to make butter.  Our collection contains a Union Churn, which had a large wheel on the front to roll the butter inside, making it faster than churning by hand. Additionally, you didn't need to touch the butter with your hands, making it more convenient. It would also help churn enough butter for a whole household.

The 1894-1895 Fall & Winter catalogue of Montgomery & Co advertises the Union Church Butter Churn as costing 4.00$ for a five gallon tank, and 4.75$ for a ten gallon tank. With inflation, that ten gallon tank would cost roughly 141$

 One of my fondest memories of the third grade was learning about the pioneers. One afternoon, our teacher taught us how to churn butter by hand using jars. Even thought it wasn't as extensive as what the settlers would have faced, it was an engaging learning opportunity. If you or your little one wants to try it out, there's a recipe here.

Do you want to see our Barrel Butter Churn and our other amazing tools? Then come to our Landing of the Settlers Event, this weekend! It's only 8$ per person, and the event starts at 10am, going until 4pm. You can find more information about the event here.