The HORSE DRAWN Papers #11

B O U D I N O T   N E E D S   A   T O P

Generationally, the Boudinots engaged in a couple of different of businesses. They were successful rope makers and successful in dry goods.

There are a series of pictures in Alexandria and St. Albans showing the young ladies of Alexandria dressed in white for Decoration Day.  Their role was to place flowers on Alexandria's fallen soldiers, hence Decoration Day.  Today, we call this Memorial Day.  Back then, Decoration Day was the day to recognize the fallen soldiers of the community by decorating houses with bunting, much as we celebrate the Fourth of July today.  Decoration Day used to be a big event and was reserved solely for honoring those who died in the service of their beloved country with a focus on the recently fought Civil War.  It was the day when the young women decorated the graves of veterans by placing flowers on the graves of the fallen.  The observance of Decoration Day started in the South shortly after the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln - a singular event with profound effect on our community.

One of the first mentions of rope making in Alexandria is a rope factory built by Alexander Devilbiss in the back of Lot 20, or what I remember as Earl and Pauline Rusk's house.  This happened in 1833 and was named the Devilbiss Rope and Harness Company.  Very early on, a rope bridge over the Raccoon Creek was made along what today is Tharp Road.  This rope bridge was in existence in the early 1900s and is mentioned in The Buxton Journal.  Then it was known as the South Road.  It is also not clear if Devilbiss worked leather or were made from finished rope.

A hemp field as it may have looked along Mounts Road.

Another 1800s Alexandria farm and business family was the Boudinots.  In 1866, Elisha Boudinot owned the farm northeast of Alexandria and grew hemp.  Boudinot harvested, dried, and processed the hemp into fibers from which he made rope.   By 1875, Boudinot extended his farm to the highland along the east side of Mounts Road.  Elisha also owned properties in Alexandria.  These included the lot where the firehouse currently stands, although in 1866, there was a house there.  He also owned the lot across the street.  On this lot, there was a house on the west side of the lot and a harness shop on the east half.  Elisha also owned a large house on the east side of North Liberty across from the current township garage.

Elisha Boudinot got his start growing hemp.  With so much farmland devoted to staple crops - often with so much excess of grains that it was converted to whisky and rye - Boudinot could afford to grow hemp and buy flour.  Boudinot would dry the hemp and work it into fiber with which to weave rope.  It is not clear if this led Boudinot into the leather business or if he stuck to rope, but we do know Boudinot & Oldham's offered custom shoes.

An example of a rope making egg.

Making rope is not a difficult thing, but it requires patience, consistency, and some experience.  The first step is to break the hemp into fibers.  Then the fibers are spun into threads.  Individual threads are then twisted into a twine.  Twines are twisted into a strand.  At this point, the rope maker takes three or four strands and use a wooden block called a top.  This top looks like a flattened egg, some have a hole through the long axis.  Three or four grooves are cut along the outside of the top.  These guide the strands as they are twisted into a rope.   There are older methods used to make rope, but this is how you can expect rope to be made in the late 19th Century.

The Boudinots would leave the rope making business behind and would go into the dry goods business.  The family was loyal to their community and to Decoration Day.  Their advertisement would also announce they made custom shoes, a possible throw back to their harness making days.