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There are many angles to the foundation of America, but colonial towns are some of the earliest examples of settlement in the country’s history. Built around the current values and needs of the people at the time, it was a much different era to live in compared to today. It’s also important to remember that many early towns came from British charters and colonial governors.
From southern colonies to those in New England, and many settlers in the middle of nowhere, unique ways of life were popping up all over the land. Regardless of where you looked, any settlement like this shared a few similar features.
Leading examples would be early education, community churches, homes, and local rules to help maintain order. Throughout this article, you’ll get a better look at what life was like in early American towns, many years ago.
Home and Family Life
The truth is that many colonial homes weren’t much to look at. Generally built from local materials, heating came from fireplaces, and choices for insulation or any actual privacy were pretty scarce.
Due to the survival nature of the times, many people sought to create sizable families. Living back then took a lot of work and effort from everyone, and having a large family under one roof increased the chance of survival. Even though times were tough, that doesn’t mean people didn’t attempt to build a decent life from every angle.
Schools and Education
The scale of education varied quite a bit depending on where you looked. Many towns did their best to maintain a schoolhouse, while others opted to handle it through homeschooling. This wouldn’t include anything like today’s US history homeschool curriculum, but they did their best with what they had.
Education was definitely emphasized much more in New England than in many other parts of the country. This tends to be common with places and towns that develop faster than others. It should also be noted that boys had much better access to education than girls. Subjects like writing, arithmetic, and reading were quite common, but so were many practical skills relevant to the times.
Local Laws and Town Rules
Between local town meetings and having minimal law enforcement, if any at all, local laws and town rules were a community effort. For the most part, colonial towns were governed through meetings, primarily driven by men’s rule.
Before sheriffs became a thing, it was common to have constables or selectmen whom the townspeople could trust. Laws tended to be formed from local values, with a pretty heavy influence from religious beliefs.
Endnote
While the U.S. hasn’t been around that long from a global standpoint, it has evolved rapidly in just a few hundred years. While times were pretty simple back then, you’d be surprised at how organized they were as a community.
Even if these towns don’t sound like much, many of them were the starting point for the cities we live in today. Things have changed immensely since this time period, but it can’t be argued that colonial towns were the foundation for how our society works in today’s world.