In the 1700s the Waxhaws welcomed families of Scots-Irish (often called Ulster Scots) origin. These settlers carried with them a rich fabric of autumn customs that helped bind neighbors into community in a new land.
In fall they marked the harvest with shared work and shared food: communal butchering, apple-pressing and cider-making, and preserving root crops for winter. Women gathered for quilting bees and spinning circles — practical tasks that also created social time for storytelling, news, and songs. Men and women alike kept alive a musical tradition of fiddles, ballads, and step dancing that eased long evenings by the hearth. The Presbyterian meetinghouse and household gatherings were places for reading, prayer, and the oral passing of family histories.
At the Museum of the Waxhaws this season we’re highlighting these connections: original tools, domestic objects, and recorded tunes that tell how everyday fall life looked for those early Scots-Irish families. Learn how everyday traditions became the roots of our local culture.
