3. The Town Common and
Herdsmen
The common was a big lawn in the
center of a town where everybody
met.
Around the common was the
meeting house, and all the public
buildings in a community, such as
the tavern and general store.
Animals could graze on the
common.
The town herdsmen were
expected to take care of
everybody's animals. The
townspeople dropped their
animals off in the morning at night
they picked them up.
4. The Layout of a Colonial
Town
The harbor was the
busiest part of town.
The marketplace was in
the middle of town.
There was a gristmill,
general store, blacksmith
shop, barrel maker, wagon
maker, church and a
school.
5. The Gristmill
The gristmill was used to
make grain into flour.
It was very hard to find a
spot for the gristmill
because the gristmill
needed water.
The people had to build
a lot of things for a
gristmill.
6. House Raisings
When a family moved into
a new town the men would
come together and build
the new family a house.
After the house was
finished they would have a
big celebration.
7. Inns and Taverns
Inns were just like hotels.
Villagers would drink a lot
of wine and beer .
They were the first post
offices.
Inns had names like The
Old Swan,The Red
House,and the Plow and
Harrow.
8. Punishments in Colonial
Times
Stocks-small wooden
device with foot holes. A
person would sit up
straight And their legs
were held out straight the
feet were locked in the
foot holes.
Pillory- had holes for a
persons head and hands
and it was wooden. The
person would have to
stand up.
9.
10. Colonial Firefighting
In colonial times, there were no fire
or police departments or hose
pumps
In case of fire , all the townspeople
would help put it out by making
two rows: one with dry buckets
and one with wet buckets
Instead of police, there were town
watchmen
Their job was to alert people
when there was a fire
To spread news about a fire,
there were town criers. They
would shout out a short statement
11. Theater in Colonial Times
Many colonies banned theaters and acting
because it wasn't proper for Christians.
A famous theater opened in 1752.
More theaters followed in places like New
York, Annapolis, and Charleston.
The first play written in the colonies was
called, The Prince of Parthia by Thomas
Godfrey.
