Process, Method, and Timeline

Sophie measures and sketches a hemp break at the Woodman Museum, Dover, NH

Sowing, growing, harvesting, and processing

Traditionally, from sowing to harvest to processing was a year-long cycle as revealed in historical accounts.  Our project timeline is roughly May 2023-June 2024, which will encompass planting to harvest, process to production. We will work with Professor Sideman from the Sustainable Agriculture department on growing our crop while also undertaking the necessary historical research.

We sowed two varieties of flax seed — Avian and Nathalie -- on May 17th, 2023, and now, in mid-June, our plants our looking healthy and are approaching a foot in height. We plan to harvest the crop in late August or early September, at the beginning of the fall semester. [For updates on the growth of the flax, please see additional blog posts and attached videos.]

Historic Context 

Account book kept by currently unknown Dover resident, c. 1779-1780
Woodman Museum, Ellen P. Rounds Collection, #3749

The cultivation, production and sale and trade of flax is an integral part of my scholarly research into New Hampshire’s pre-industrial, rural-based textile economy. I have worked extensively with the 18^th century writings of shoemaker and Deacon Samuel Lane of Stratham, NH, General John Montgomery of Haverhill, NH and numerous other day and account books throughout New England, looking at the home production and sale of textiles at places like Portsmouth Market Day or via trade and barter with neighbors. The opportunity to deep dive into this single important fiber, while actually growing it at UNH offers a tremendous opportunity for university- and community-wide engagement and allows the extension of historic research surrounding the flax project to include late 17^th through early 19^th century flax growing and linen production in the Seacoast.  For example, last summer, with the assistance of the Stratham Historical Society (one of our community partners) I located two c1825-35 child's dresses from the Lane family which are of homespun linen and handsewn. Through lengthy research, I was able to determine that the dresses were worn by Olivia Emeline Lane (14 November 1825- 4 September 1905) and made by her mother, Hannah French Lane (1802-1841). Look for a future post on these charming garments.

We are continuing to work with the Stratham Historical Society, the Newmarket Historical Society, the New Hampshire Historical Society, the Portsmouth Athenaeum, the Moffatt-Ladd House, and the Woodman Museum, in addition to many others. 

Backstory: How the Flax Project Began

 

"….in all Joshua Sow'd about 1½ Bu. & ½ peck flax Seed.”

Samuel Lane, Almanack, May I, 1769.

The concept for this project began in a University of New Hampshire (UNH) History Department classroom. During the Spring semester of 2023, I taught HIST600/800 "From Homespun to Fast Fashion: A Global History of Textiles." After several classes spent on an in-depth study of both the global and local history of growing flax for linen production, a student noted it would be a unique experience if we could try growing flax and processing it. My response--why not?

The class is now collaborating with UNH Extension Professor Becky Sideman from UNH’s Sustainable Agriculture program and is experimenting with growing flax, cotton, and rye in a 50’x50’ plot at the Woodman Agricultural Research Farm, part of the UNH Campus. After access to the plot was confirmed, class members (grad and undergrad working together) conducted research on the best type of flax seed for New England soil and textile production. The students and the Department are excited about the project, which will extend from spring 2023 through spring 2024. We hope it will generate more interdepartmental collaborative projects. 

The following posts will introduce you to team members, track the growth of the flax, take you behind the scenes to New England museums and historical societies, and chart our experiments with everything from building a flax break to harvesting, retting and scutching the flax and -- we hope--processing enough linen thread to make a small article of clothing. 

Our methodology is both experiential and archival-- based on the knowledge shared in newspapers, documents, letters, diaries, and almanacs, as well as the surviving textiles made and saved by those living in the Seacoast of New Hampshire during the late 17th through early 19th centuries. We thank these frequently anonymous individuals for taking the time in their busy world to record their endeavors. 

Dr. Kimberly Alexander

Director of Museum Studies & Senior Lecturer