Corn Cribs by Steve Tweed – Tuesdays with Tweed
Hi, Folks!
Most of us have a love of Appalachian Barns. You cannot drive down any road in Appalachia without spotting some type of barn. They serve as silent reminders as to how people made their living and in many cases still do.
However, absolutely no structure throughout Appalachia offers as much historical proof of simple survival as the corn crib. Hog Pens would be a close second.
Appalachian families would grow field corn with names such as Bloody Butcher, Hickory King, Reid’ Yellow Dent and Tennessee Red Cob.
Unlike sweet corn, field corn was not grown for its tenderness but rather to its full maturity and hardness.
Eighty year old J.V. Hensley lives in the Shelton Laurel Community of northern Madison County. “Growing up, we didn’t know what sweet corn was. Filed corn fed everybody and everything”, according to Mr. Hensley.
However, field corn does have a milk stage and during this period the ears are make prized roasting ears. In addition, Hickory King played a prominent role in the making of moonshine years ago.
Nevertheless, almost all of the corn was grown to maturity, harvested and then stored in the family corn crib.
The corn crib had slatted siding which allowed air to keep the corn dry and free from mold. Most corn cribs were free standing, although one will occasionally see a corn crib built into the side of a barn. The slatted siding is a dead giveaway.
Most free standing corn cribs had an overhang which served as a storage area for farm tools or firewood. The overhang of our family corn crib sheltered a molasses cooking furnace which was handmade out of clay.
The stored corn could then be taken out as needed or hauled by wagon to a local grist mill where it would all be ground at once.
The hard corn could be cracked for chickens, given whole kernel to mules and horses or ground as corn meal or flour for the family, depending on the type of corn and need.
The next time you drive around the countryside, look for the slatted siding for a piece of quickly disappearing Appalachian history & culture.
Y’all have a great week!
