City Toys

In 1889, only families who had money could afford to buy ready-made toys.

Families who were "well to do" and didn't have to start working a farm to make money could afford to buy lumber to build their homes right after the Land Run. If a family lived near the lumber store, it was easy to have building materials delivered.

WHAT ARE STEREOSCOPES?

The wooden viewfinder you see in the picture above is a STEREOSCOPE.

Also called “Stereopticons” or “Stereo Viewers,” were popular forms of American entertainment in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Between 1881 to 1939 the stereoscope created by Oliver Wendell Holmes was the most popular brand of this item. Pictures viewed in the stereoscope appear as a three dimensional photograph because the original photos were taken from a slightly different viewpoint that corresponds to the spacing of the eyes.

Country Toys

In 1889, if your family came to Edmond, O.T. and had to start farming the land and building their businesses, they probably had to earn their money before they could afford lumber to build their homes. Farmers worked from the time the sun came up until it went down to make a living for their families.

If you were growing up outside of town, on a family farm, you would have played outdoors alot, making your "toys" from natural things like sticks and rocks. Poor families could not afford to buy playthings for their children, and would have made them toys by carving wood, forming clay and using string. At Christmas, children were grateful to have a piece of fruit as their present, and toys that their mother or father made for them from scratch with love.

 CORN HUSK DOLL

The doll you see in the picture above is made from corn husks which would have been in plentiful supply on the farm. Fabric for dolls would have been made from scraps left over from sewing clothes for the family. Pioneer families were very resourceful and used their supplies very carefully.

NWH