The village was the center of business activity for colonists. Some of those businesses were:

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An apothecary was a person who owned a shop that was like a drugstore. They gave people medicine that was made from plants and other natural things. One type of plants they used were herbs. For example, they used jewelweed to stop the itch from poison ivy. Apothecaries also were like doctors. They would put dressings on wounds. Apothecaries were important during colonial times because they helped people feel better when they were sick.




A chandlery was a workshop where candles were made. A woman usually ran the business in her home. She saved fat from the meat of hogs, beef cattle or sheep. The fat was melted down into hot tallow. Wicks made out of linen were tied to a stick. The wicks were dipped over and over into the hot tallow until they were the right thickness. Chandleries were important because everyone needed candles for light.




A grist mill was a place where farmers brought their grain to be ground into flour. They brought wheat and rye to be ground into flour. Corn was ground into cornmeal. Two types of power were used to turn the gears in a grist mill. They were water and wind power. The gears turned a large millstone that ground the grain into flour. Grist mills were important to people during colonial times because they provided a quicker and easier way to grind grain into flour.




An inn was a place to sleep overnight when you were traveling. In colonial times an inn had unheated rooms. Four to six people who you might not know slept in the same room. The rooms had no locks on the door. Only men slept in the inn. Women stayed with families. Servants and slaves slept in a barn. Inns were important because people could find out what was going on in other colonies from the people they met who were also traveling.




The waterwheel was the colonists major source of power. Waterwheels helped power grist mills and saw mills. Waterwheels helped turn trees to lumber and grind food for keeping and selling. A man was in charge of running this business. One type of water wheel was the overshot wheel. It worked when the buckets got pulled up the wheel would move. The water wheel turned a gear which turned the millstone. Without waterwheels it would have been harder to grind grain into flour and to cut lumber.

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