 From
late February through April, thousands of maple trees in this mountainous
area are tapped each year just as the early settlers and Native Americans
did hundreds of years ago. During this period, the ideal weather
conditions of freezing nights and warm days cause the sap to drip.
Syrup production requires long hours of labor. This process has changed
little over the years and still requires the boiling of about 50 gallons
of sap to produce one gallon of syrup. For the early settlers, the
maple season occurred during this off-season for farming. This allowed
the settlers to turn their excess syrup into a much needed cash crop by
bartering it locally or selling it to eastern markets. The Center's
restored camp features the tools, equipment, and methods of production
used from colonial times to the present for producing maple products. |
