The entry into Portadown was by an old and decrepit bridge. The river flooded every Christmas along an extensive tract of meadow, leaving behind in March a light deposit of mud which acted as fertilizer for the rough fodder of the black cattle that pastured there. The balance of the parish was slightly higher and gently undulating with the highest point in the townland of Drumclogher where a hill afforded a view of the whole parish, the Bann, Lough Neagh and the distant Mourne mountains. Black cattle and pigs are the main animals. The produce is sent to Portadown where it goes by boat to Belfast and Newry.
Pork is transported to Belfast by cart.
The main fuel is turf, cut from the bogs and saved in the summer for the dreary wet winters. There were few wild trees aside from some old oaks and beech at Carrick but numerous orchards gave the area the appearance of being well-wooded. There were several large estates, manors really as the owners dispensed justice through their seneschals in local courts. The Gibsons would have been subject to the Mandeville estate court at Kernan. The courts were held every three weeks for debts under 40s.