Virginia

Mount Fair, Icehouse, Crozet, Albemarle Co (38.164846, -78.677555)

(a) Felling dates: Summer 1847, Winter 1847/8, and Winter 1848/8

Here six timbers were sampled, two of pine and the remainder of oak. One of the oak joists was sampled twice in an attempt to obtain a longer rings sequence, but both hit the same defects, and only 63 rings were obtained from both hqf142a and hqf142b. These were combined to form the same-timber mean hqf142. Only one of the pine samples dated, that producing a last measured ring date of 1814. However, no sapwood or bark edge survived on this sample, therefore the felling date could be substantially later than this date. However, the four oak samples also dated, and produced last measured ring dates ranging from 1813 to 1840. This latest timber (hqf143) fortunately had complete sapwood, giving a precise felling date of winter 1840/41. The other dated timbers appear to be coeval with this, and would suggest a single period of construction from 1841 or within a few years of this date.

The single dated pine timber hqf145, together with the seventeen dated pine timbers from the house, were combined to form the 144-year side master HQFx8, spanning the years 1705-1848. This matched well and consistently with a number of pine chronologies up and down Virginia. The single oak sample was combined with the four oak timbers from the Ice House was combined with a single oak sample from the Smoke House (hqf15, see below) and were combined to form the 137-year site master HQFx10, spanning the years 1704-1840. This matched well with the other Headquarters master chronologies as well as regional reference chronologies.

Walnut Level: Corner block (38º 18663N; 78º 68833W)

Felling dates: Winter 1815/16 Joists(3/4) 1815(C3); Trimmer 1815(C). Site Master 1706-1815 (Tulip poplar) HQFx11 (t = 5.2 SOTx345; 5.1 UNAR; 5.1 HQFx7; 5.0 OMBx1).

Miles, D W H and Worthington, M J, 2008 ‘The Tree-Ring Dating of Headquarters Farm Smokehouse, Brightberry Farmhouse, Walnut Level, and Mount Fair House and outbuildings, all in Browns Cove, Crozet, Albemarle County, Virginia’ unpubl ODL archive report 2008/39

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