When I first encountered this 1907 Thanksgiving postcard, I thought it was a fanciful parade of turkeys. But the drawing is rooted in the reality of bringing turkeys to market.
My lack of knowledge about food sourcing was not and still is not that unusual. Growing up, the closest I came to any understanding of food sourcing came from watching Rawhide, a television series featuring stories around drovers bringing cattle herds up the Sedalia Trail from San Antonio to Sedalia, Missouri.
Turkey drives had a similar purpose: bringing turkeys to market.
By the early 19th century, turkeys were a common source of food. The birds hatched in the spring and were ready for slaughter in the fall. A single turkey could, with side dishes, feed an entire family, making turkeys an economical source of food on the farm. Some farms specialized in raising turkeys with one or more farms coming together to herd their turkeys to urban markets.
In the early 19th century, drovers herded thousands of turkeys in flocks of 7,000-10,000 birds. Vermont turkeys walked to Boston; Kentucky and Tennessee turkeys traversed to Richmond, and some birds ambled between Missouri and Colorado.
The roads were bad, the journey long, and the birds didn’t always make the wisest choices. Before the turkeys set out on their journey, farmers took steps to protect their feet. Some marched them through tar and then sand to adhere protection onto their somewhat fragile feet.
On the march with the turkeys were drovers, a wagon with corn for the turkeys and supplies for the drovers, and older children who often scattered corn so the turkeys would stay on the pathway.
Flocks of turkeys walked about 1 mile an hour, and could cover about 10-12 miles before they stopped for the night. Hazards along the way included mountains the birds had to climb and bodies of water they had to cross, usually in the air. Drovers had to keep the birds from crowding together, so they didn’t trample each other. And the flock had to be kept calm in order to avoid a stampede. Drovers used long poles topped with a red cloth to keep the fowls on track.
If darkness fell at any point — be it cloud cover, a rain storm, a covered bridge, or the sun setting — turkeys flew up to settle down for the night and roost. Weighing about 20 pounds each, the turkeys clustered together, often breaking tree branches or collapsing roofs.
Once the turkeys arrived at their destination, they might be marched into the town marketplace, or in later times, directly to the slaughter house. Turkey season began at the end of October and continued into January.
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The Life & Times of Sarah Good, Accused Witch
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Illustrations & a Few Sources
Turkeys on a Road, 1907; Thanksgiving from Harpers Magazine 1858; Thanksgiving Card with Two Turkeys. Andy Wright. “Back When Your Thanksgiving Turkey Walked Hundreds of Miles to Market.” Atlas Obscura. Nov. 23, 2016.