[NTL1991]

The town's tax card says 1802. That seems too early to me. The town has a habit of listing any house that's obviously old but unknown as "1900." I've gone up and down the whole street, and the oldest house I see listed is 1900. So it's curious that this house is specifically listed as 1802. My guess is 1850-1880, but I'm probably wrong.

Joists are roughly 2.5" x 6", 16" centers, mortised into solid ~6x6 beams. Wood pegs are visible in areas securing mortised joints. 1.75 story house, 23'x40'. Field stone foundation.

This is in a small mill town in the far Northwest corner of little Rhode Island.

Just a quarter mile down the road is the site of an old mill on a river, which according to a book on the town's history, was "built around 1886, where it stood until it burned to the ground in March 1982. As early as 1793, there was a forge here." That's interesting.

The house was condemned after a severe fire and rebuilt to the studs after my grandparents bought it in 1971, so almost nothing inside the house is original aside from the floor and exterior wall framing. According to them, it was previously an apartment house and a tenant in the basement apartment brought his motorcycle inside and started the fire.

They're curious just how old the house really is. Any thoughts?

 

[Nealtw]

If you had a timber you could cut the end off you could get it dated by the growth rings. They match it by the thickness of the rings compared to timbers of a known date.

 

[NTL1991]

If you had a timber you could cut the end off you could get it dated by the growth rings. They match it by the thickness of the rings compared to timbers of a known date.

That's an awesome idea. I'll have to look around to see if any timbers are remaining in the basement. The beams are bearing on concrete lally columns but I presume they were once bearing on solid timber posts. Maybe there's one hanging around somewhere.

 

[carpdad]

Interesting joint. Looks like tenon and a metal spike as a peg. Search brought up that it may be part of ship building tech. RI so makes sense too locale wise.

http://www.maritimearchaeology.com/information/reference/fastenings/


Maybe diy house with some pegs taken off the job.:smile:

 

[SeniorSitizen]

Looking for evidence of what type of saw was used to rip the timbers may have some value in your research.

 

[NTL1991]

Interesting! I've never thought about ship building tech pouring over into house building, but that's definitely a possibility around here.

So far, all the spikes I've found have been made of wood.

I found an old drawn "Bird's Eye" map of the town, dated 1895, and bingo, the house is there. The details of it are about 90% correct.

You can see the abandoned railroad ROW behind the property, the Grammar School directly behind the house, at the top of the hill, the mill down the street.

 

[NTL1991]

Looking for evidence of what type of saw was used to rip the timbers may have some value in your research.

Good point! I've been reading up a little on this very thing.


I definitely need to get some better light and pictures down there to study the saw marks.

 

[SeniorSitizen]

I didn't read all of this ( will do sometime in my busy schedule ):smile: but this information may aid in your interesting research. This is the kind of history i like.



https://inspectapedia.com/interiors/Nails_Hardware_Age.php

 

[3onthetree]

Looking at the growth rings would certainly tell you how old the tree was when it was cut down :confused1:

There are definitely historical groups/"societies" for the coastal houses (studied them, visited there, they are incredible!). Don't know how far inland prominent architecture extends, but they might at least know where and how to find historical information and which counties has available archives. Might make digging a little easier. Also, lots of counties/cities sometimes has a person into/in charge of historical information (tax sanctioned or just a hobbyist).

Usually when dating periods you look at the style of house. Specific periods vary based on what was culturally popular, the function and resources of the local area, and the construction style that has been mentioned by Carpy and Senior.

 

[SeniorSitizen]

Good point! I've been reading up a little on this very thing.


I definitely need to get some better light and pictures down there to study the saw marks.

I really like the LED headlamp my son thought i could use for so many things, and he was correct. It's so good sometimes i wish i had not seen some things.

 

[carpdad]

Great map. The center church, if standing, may have some records. Looks like a walking distance.

 

[NTL1991]

This house is very simple in exterior trim. Plain clapboard siding, plain door/window trim, simple frieze and cornice. The monochromatic paint mutes the trim even more. (I've always been a fan of crisp white trim and I think it would suit this house well)


Obviously the basement garage was added during the renovation in 1972. One thing I notice is the chimney. Single flue. No fireplace in the house. Weren't early 1800's homes very dependent on a big old fireplace for heating? I would expect a big central chimney with multiple fireplaces.


There are many, many large ornate Victorian/Queen Anne houses around the village and town. Even the Duplex mill house I grew up in just a few minutes away had beautiful Victorian cues - window caps, dentil frieze, 2 over 2 windows, 10' ceilings downstairs. Not so with this house.

 

[NTL1991]

Great map. The center church, if standing, may have some records. Looks like a walking distance.

The church is still standing. There's also a small schoolhouse, built in 1897, which apparently now houses the town's Historic Society. It's just up the street. Maybe they can shed some light on age.

 

[zircon]

Go to the Town office where the deeds are recorded. Each deed describes the property and references the next earliest deed and so forth until you reach a point where it is just farmland and the house doesn’t exist. The house was built after that time and sometime before the earliest reference to it.

 

[NTL1991]

Go to the Town office where the deeds are recorded. Each deed describes the property and references the next earliest deed and so forth until you reach a point where it is just farmland and the house doesn’t exist. The house was built after that time and sometime before the earliest reference to it.

Awesome!


I've got access to some Land Records online, and the boundary lines are based on some very old references "land now or formerly belonging to..." By looking at the deeds for the houses around the property, I've been able to get a couple surnames that I can research.


From the deeds that border the railroad easement, I'm able to see that the railroad was conveyed that land in October 1892.

 

[1wiseguy]

Look for old plat maps. Houses are often shown as a small square, but may not be shown if in a municipality. They often can be found online using the county name. Or check for them with a local historical society. Sanborn fire maps could also be checked, but you may not find any that are older than the birds eye view. Let us know how the search went.

 

[Nealtw]

Looking for evidence of what type of saw was used to rip the timbers may have some value in your research.

They had saw mills before 1800.

 

[Nealtw]

Dendrochronology (or ​

tree

-​

ring

dating) is the scientific method of dating ​

tree rings

(also called ​

growth rings

) to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them this can give data for dendroclimatology, the ​

study

of climate and atmospheric conditions during different periods in history from wood.​

 

[SeniorSitizen]

They had saw mills before 1800.

I'm sure they did, but did everyone have one?

 

[Nealtw]

I'm sure they did, but did everyone have one?

Or a rail line. :biggrin2: