How Old Is This Barn?

Old buildings can be dated in three basic ways: documents can show when a structure was built or modified, physical evidence such as construction methods, materials, shape, and decoration can provide clues, and scientific analysis of tree growth rings in the wood can reveal when the trees were cut down. The original siding on this building was fastened with handmade wrought nails, suggesting a date before ca. 1820. Tree-ring dating indicates that the original portion of this barn was built in 1785, making it one of the oldest wooden barns still standing in Maryland. Its central section is the oldest part, and it originally had sheds on each side protecting the core building; those sheds were replaced several times for different uses over the course of the barn's history, and the current sheds, built in 2008, are similar to the originals. Dendrochronology studies annual growth rings formed by living trees, whose patterns vary with weather conditions such as wet, dry, hot, and cool years. By matching ring sequences from living trees and old buildings, scientists can establish long regional chronologies and determine when structures were built. In the 1980s, the first major tree-ring dating study in the Chesapeake region focused on Southern Maryland, sampling 64 trees and 24 buildings to create a 410-year sequence from 1570 to 1980. The barn's timbers show it was constructed in A.D. 1785, and its wide floorboards were added in A.D. 1848. This study also showed that many buildings once thought to date to the 17th century were actually built in the 18th century, changing understanding of the region's architectural history.

Maryland · United States