![]() With the rise of cities and the specialization of work, leather tanning quickly developed into its own industry. Back then, almost every farm and homestead prepared its own leather from slaughtered domestic or wild animals. In colonial America, the creation of leather from animal skins was a crucial part of life. This story played out across the Northeast and helped shape the forest that we know today. In the industry’s 19th century heyday, as many as 64 tanneries were operating in the Catskill region of New York, and estimates hold that 70 million hemlock trees were harvested for their bark. All of this can make it hard to remember that at one time the manufacturing of leather goods was an economic engine sustaining many communities in the northeastern United States.įrom a forestry perspective, it’s also worth remembering that eastern hemlock ( Tsuga Canadensis) played a crucial role in the early hide-tanning industry. Today, synthetic materials have replaced leather in many shoes and boots nylon and reinforced cotton have replaced leather in coats and a cow hide is more likely to become gelatin than it is a saddle. ![]() As our understanding of chemistry evolved, these materials were replaced by vegetable, mineral, and then nonorganic ingredients. Turning animal skin into a durable product requires processing, and in primitive times, hides were tanned using animal brains, dung, urine, ash, and smoke. They’ve worn it, walked on it, sat on it, wrote on it. ![]() Since the dawn of history, humans have made great use of leather.
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