Housebuilding at Plimoth Plantation
Harry Hornblower and friends groundbreaking, 1958.
Deep down in the annex of Plimoth Plantation’s Visual Arts Department, there’s a small, fluorescent-saturated room, buzzing with climate control and filled with negatives, slides, and prints. The visual archives at Plimoth Plantation reveal a rich history of our 65-yr-old institution. There you will find old friends, legends you have never met, and younger versions of one’s own self. There are slides and negatives recording construction techniques and methods used at the very inception of our museum. It’s humbling, daunting, and energizing–all at once–to have a look through all those folders and file cabinets: Where did we come from? How did we get here? My god, what have I done!
After 65 years it’s acceptable to contemplate one’s own institutional navel. The key is to look at the records without passing judgement and to consider that what may initially seem quaint or inefficient or historically inaccurate, was once a first, and was part of a pioneering way of seeing history. There are many “firsts” recorded on film in our archives, and for that alone we are grateful. Humility goes a long way down here, knowing that one day our work and methods and hairstyles will look just as dated to someone looking back at the records we leave behind in some future annex.
As a primer to our forthcoming posts on house-frame construction,The Riven Word takes a little journey in the way-back machine to better understand our own museum’s history of colonial-house construction, even as we try to rediscover the 17th-century while moving into the 21st.
Well, how did I get here?
Processing timber for a frame has always involved hand-work. Once it was common to surface squared mill-sawn stock, to give it a hand-wrought appearance.
- Original construction of Plimoth Plantation’s Colonial English village-1958.
We still work the house timbers, though our methods have changed.
Justin finding the square in that white oak.
Sometimes the work seeems strangely familiar…
"Daubing" a chimney.
…even if the faces are different…
Mark putting finishing touches on his forge chimney, circa 2001.
…and the techniques have changed. Standing on the shoulders of giants, we’d like to think that we are that much closer to discovering historical truths.
Paula Marcoux daubing a hearth wall at Standish House, circa 1994.
We used to do much good work behind the scenes, out of view of our guests…
Rob Tarule and Joel Pontz's excellent adventure, circa 1987.
…and that had a purpose in allowing us the time and concentration necessary to re-discover ancient techniques.
As we laid the groundwork of understanding and appropriate methods, we became more confident in sharing our labors with museum guests.
The Myles Standish house-raising, 1993. All of the house's elements were, for the first time in our museum's history, worked by hand before our guests.
Methods of construction once involved a hybrid of modern materials and historic interpretations.
Cattail heads lopped.
These days, it’s off to the marshes–
Into the blue again.
And into the sawpit–
This is not my beautiful house...
…to gather and to make our building materials.
Specific details come and go–water dissolving and water removing…
Thatching pre-Peter Slevin--a brave new world.
…but from space, or from the bottom of the ocean, it all looks about the same.
Working Winslow's cap, 2012.
Through the decades, work here has always been done in earnest, taking advantage of the latest research and understanding.
Nails, saw, square, hammer--it all looks familiar. Where's the drill though?
Tweaking the methods, though, will sometimes turn things on their head. This is to be expected.
Stuart Bolton riving clapboards for forge walls and roof--2000.The forge was the first large-scale "cratchet" frame attempted.
Time isn’t holding us, time isn’t after us.
Fashion is a fickle mistress.
Francis Eaton House, 1970--Nashoba Project school collaboration.
But work and discovery remain a constant–water flowing underground…
Winslow House parlor addition, 2001
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Acknowledgements
Où peut-on acheter chaudrée?
This post is made possible by the institutional memories and sublime photographry of great people like:
Marie “pour les oiseaux” Pelletier
Al “fantasy baseball” Solomon
Dickson Studios
Ted “beret-wearin” Avery
Ted “where’s my hammer” Curtin
Gary “Indiana Jones”Andrasko
&
Jerel “size 13″ Dye
Thanks for your part in keeping history alive and relevant.
Tags: 17th century house, pilgrim house, Plimoth Plantation
Enjoyed the view of the evolution, thanks for the look into the archives.
Vintage Talking Heads and vintage photographs.
Great photographic view of the changes in techniques.
John
Great post. Awesome to see how living history and material culture curating has changed.
Thanks for the look backwards, bringing many memories of Peter Slevin, Paula Marcoux, Rob Tarule and Joel Pontz (and many others). Without “those who have gone before” and kept the dream alive, I wouldn’t have this wonderful blog in my life.
Do the research as best you can, line everything up as you hope it should be and…go!
Be prepared to view the results with a sense of humor. It helps. Only photo of an early colonial dozer I’ve ever seen. Is it still in the collection?
Love the pictures of Standish House being built!
Rick, what a brilliant post. I don’t have the gift for words to say how I appreciate your gift for words, not to mention everything else you feature here. Thank you. Where is that large automobile?
Jack
Loved this, great photos. Thanks for sharing (but guess new Brewster House too new to be included here). Maybe in a more recent update? But again thanks so much, really enjoyed seeing photos of construction of buildings that have “always” been there for me.
Nice job Rick,
Really liking the new road down the center of town, the straightened Bradford house and the completed shed for the new oven. Looking forward to the Cooke house as well.
This was a fascinating post, Rick! I love looking at old pics of the Plant and seeing how things have come to be/changed/improved…cannot wait for the new Cooke house!