A Walk Through History: Learn about the history of Westerville, Ohio. This newsletter was created by the Westerville Library’s Local History Center.

1. THE WESTERVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY
LOCAL HISTORY RESOURCE CENTER NEWSLETTER
Fall 2012
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Recently the Local History Center acquired images taken on the George S. Schrock farm in the late 19th –
early 20th century. These photographs show what farm life was like a century ago. The Schrock farm was
located where Sharon Woods Park is today.
Schrock Family Album
To view all photos in the Schrock family album go to
www.westervillelibrary.org/local-history
Type in Schrock family album in the box at the top of
the page.
Schrock farm buildings
Grandma feeding the chickens
Horses worked hard on the farm
Animals were an important part of farm life
Cornfield after the harvest
Butchering
hogs
Splitting wood to use as fuel
for heat and cooking
Want to see more?
A Walk Through Westerville History

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Grandfather George
Washington Schrock
• Born in Virginia in 1804. His father was a hat
maker
• Became a weaver and guided a flatboat on the
Potomac
• Moved to the Westerville area in 1832 to find a
better life for his family
• Owned 132 acres which he used to grow food
for his family and animals
• Had a grove of 1,000 sugar maple trees
• Otterbein students liked to visit his farm to help
make taffy and other sweet treats from his maple
sugar
• Lost his son George Washington Schrock in one
of the last battles of the Civil War in April 1865
• Died on his farm in 1877
• Schrock Road was named after him and his
family
Grandson George S.
Schrock
• Born on the farm owned by his father in 1865
• Went to Otterbein University for two years but
had to leave school when his father died
• As the oldest child in the family , he took over
the work of the 158 acre farm
• He was very hard-working, bought more land,
had dairy cows and grew grain to feed them
• In 1891 he married Anna Samuel
• Anna and George had seven children – five
boys and two girls
• He was a member of the Grange, an organiza-
tion which aided farmers
• He took many photographs of the farm, his
family and the surrounding area
• He died in 1914
Trees on Schrock farm
Native American artifacts found as the
Schrocks cleared the land
George S. and Anna Schrock
The Schrock children

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The Schrock Farm
In 1832, when George Washington Schrock came from Virginia and bought land, farmers were mainly
concerned with growing enough to feed their families and their animals. As time passed farmers be-
gan to want to sell their crops and animals in an attempt to earn money to support the needs of their
families. Farms became businesses. In the early days of farming in Westerville, farmers planted their
seeds by hand, used hoes to get rid of the weeds which could destroy their crops, and harvested their
crops by hand with sickles. It was very hard work. It took 250-300 hours of labor to produce 100 bush-
els of wheat. In the early 1900s when the grandson of George Washington Schrock worked the farm,
there was more equipment pulled by horses to help plant and harvest crops. Today farmers have trac-
tors and other huge pieces of equipment to assist them in their work.
Farm Statistics
Tools used by George Washington Schrock
to grow and harvest wheat circa 1832 Machinery used by Grandson George S. Schrock circa 1900
Modern farm equipment
Farmers were 69% of
the workforce in the U.S.
*George Washington
Schrock’s lifetime
1840
1900
Student discussion question
Why do you think there are fewer farmers in the U.S.
today than there were when George Washington
Schrock and his grandson George S. Schrock were
living?
2000
Farmers were 38% of the
workforce in the U.S.
*George S. Schrock’s
lifetime
Farmers were 3% of the
workforce in the U.S.

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Young People on the Farm
The home and farm were training schools for the Schrock children and others who grew up in rural areas.
Children helped with the animals – feeding and watering them, grooming them and herding them. They
pumped water from the well and brought it in buckets into the house for cooking and cleaning. Wood
used to heat the house and for cooking was gathered by them and brought into the house. They churned
butter and worked to help grow vegetables in the garden. The Schrock family album has many photo-
graphs of young people at work and play.
Boy feeding a foal Youth helping with the cows
Girl feeding the chickens and turkeys
Boys with sheep
Ice skating
Children wading in Alum Creek and using the pulley
basket to move across the water

5. Farm Activities
Churn Your Own Butter
You need:
One cup of whipping
cream
One bowl
One small glass jar
with a lid
One wooden spoon
Cold water
Salt
What to do:
1. Pour the whipping cream into the jar.
Put the lid on the jar.
2. Take turns shaking the jar for 30 min-
utes. Watch the cream separate as you shake it.
The butter is the yellow bits. The buttermilk is
the liquid.
3. Pour the contents of the jar into a bowl.
4. Pour the buttermilk down the drain.
5. Pour a little cold water over the but-
ter to rinse off the buttermilk. Push the butter
against the side of the bowl with a wooden
spoon as you rinse it. This will remove all the
buttermilk.
6. Stir in a little salt.
7. Spread the butter on some bread and
eat it.
Pretend you are one of the Schrock children and
write a story about living on the farm and attending
a one-room schoolhouse.
Write a Story
Students of one-room school with teacher
Bibliography
These books are available at the Westerville Public Library
Pioneer Farm: Living on a Farm in the 1880s by
Megan O’Hara
The Farmer through History by Peter Chrisp
A Farm through Time by Angela Wilkes
Farming: Then and Now by Katie Roden
Farm through the Ages by Philip Steele
Farming Today Yesterday’s Way by Cheryl Walsh
Bellville
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6. Local History in the Classroom
Westerville History
The Local History Center is scheduling programs for spring.
Let us bring history to your classroom. We will share stories
about the early pioneers of Westerville, show old photos of the
town, and talk about the growth of and change in the com-
munity with special emphasis on a transportation timeline.
Classroom programs can be scheduled by contacting Beth
Weinhardt at 259-5028.
Become a fan of “Westerville History” to
see weekly posts, old photographs and
upcoming events of interest to the Wester-
ville Local History community.
Ohio and Westerville played an active role in the Under-
ground Railroad. Many people were involved in helping
runaway slaves escape to freedom. In our community,
the Hanby family, George Stoner, the Alexander family
and the Sharp family aided in this effort. Throughout the
state of Ohio, others were working to make freedom pos-
sible for runaways. The Local History Resource Center
has collected resources on this movement and would
like to share the stories and the words of runaways with
your class. We will share photos of the buildings used
as part of the Underground Railroad in our commu-
nity and give each student a map of routes in Ohio. To
schedule a 30-minute program in your classroom, con-
tact Beth Weinhardt at 259-5028.
Underground
Railroad
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