Rural Life in the Long Depression
George Bodmer
Loudoun Agricultural Society Certificate, 1875
Courtesy of the Balch Library |
George Bodmer's Carriage Shop, Aldie, Virginia
George Bodmer is standing in front of the workshop.
Courtesy of Tucker Withers |
German unification was a torturous process that drove thousands of Germans to America, including a Prussian wheelwright, George Bodmer, who arrived in Aldie in 1866.
Aldie was a good place to own a wagonwright's shop, but beginning in 1873, prices for farm goods started to fall and they continued downward for the next quarter century. Rural wheelwrights and blacksmiths hammered carbon into red hot iron to make a steel alloy that was both strong and flexible for wheel tires, implement parts and hand tools. Gradually, factories took over much of the business blacksmiths and wheelwrights used to do.
in Loudoun County Virginia
George Bodmer: Aldie Carriage Maker
January 15, 1890: Charged Mr. Ferguson #2.00 to fix his wagon and plow.
May 17, 1890: Mr. Adams paid $15.25 cash for 3 new wheels and rim.
April 21, 1891: Repaired ox cart wheel today for Mr,.Lewis and charged him $2.50.
George Bodmer Ledger Book, 1880-1881
History
1876 Reconstruction ends in the former Confederate States of America
Economy 1880
United States
Total population: 50,155,783
Farm population: 22,981, 000
Farmers made up 49% of labor force
Number of farms: 4,009,000
Virginia
Total Population:1,512,565
Loudoun
1870 Population: 20,979
Farm Acres: 276,291
Total Farms: 1,238
Hogs: 14,594
Wheat Production: 537,026 |
Science
Foot-and-mouth disease first reported in the United States
Improved method of anthrax inoculation.
Discovery of germs and the use of sterilization.
