Bog Shoes

This wood and iron “shoe” was worn in Scarborough in the late 1800s. If it looks uncomfortable, that’s because it wasn’t made for us soft-footed humans. A horse wore it while harvesting hay from the Scarborough Marsh.

Just as snowshoes keep us from sinking into deep snow, “bog shoes” prevent hoofed animals from sinking into soft, squishy soil. This one measures about 7.5 x 9.5 inches.

“Marshing” (harvesting hay from the marsh) was an annual event in Scarborough for hundreds of years. Europeans valued the grasses so highly that they assigned settlers marsh lots, which owners passed down to their heirs. They grazed animals on them and harvested different grass varieties for animal feed, fertilizer, gardening, and packing material. The marsh was a highly valued resource that required no cultivation.

When marshing, farmers cut the grass with scythes and carried it (or hauled it with the help of bog-shoed steeds) to “staddles”, wooden platforms measuring about 10 feet round.

Placing the grass on the staddle so it would dry and not fall was careful business. An experienced “stacker” stood atop the platform positioning the grass in a manner similar to a thatched roof so water would run off. Once in place, it was secured with ropes. A well-constructed staddle could tower as high as 18 feet and remain secure for years, although it was usually hauled off in colder months when the marsh froze.

At one time, staddles dotted the marsh landscape as shown in the old postcard at right. One 1890s account tells of Scarborough having “numberless stacks as far as the seas.” Some of the wooden bases remain today, naturally preserved by the marsh’s wet, low-oxygen soil.

Marshing was hard work – one can image the swiping of mosquitoes, the heat of the sun, and the clomping of these wooden shoes – but it was a critical and unique component of Scarborough’s 1800s economy.