Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory - Virginia


Virginia

Pine Slash

Pine Slash, Hanover County, Virginia (37.655956, -77.325316)


(a) Main House Felling Dates: Spring 1749, Winter 1749/50, Spring 1750, and Winter 1750/1


(b) Addition Felling Date: Undated


(a) Joists (2/4) 1717 (+22), 1747 (+1NM); Rafters (4/5) 1750 (C), 1749 (C), 1748 (¼C), 1729 (+17NM); Collars (2/2) 1749 (¼C), 1739. (b) Lintel (0/1). Site Master 1573-1750 (pine) PSVAx1 (t = 6.91 VAPINE2B; 5.66 VA2011; 5.32 OMBx2).


Pine Slash is located in eastern Hanover County, Virginia. The property was owned by Patrick Henry, who lived there for several years in the 1750s. The oldest original building on the property is a one-story dwelling with an attic; it features a very unusual vertical plank construction. A dendrochronological study was undertaken on this building to determine the primary date of construction. In addition to sampling the primary building phase, one sample was taken from the fireplace lintel in the addition to the original building.


Dendrochronological analysis has shown that the original structure was built from trees felled during a period stretching from the spring of 1749 through to the winter of 1750/1, suggesting that the building was constructed in the winter of 1750/1 or shortly thereafter. The sample taken from the addition to the original building was found not to date.


Worthington, M J and Seiter, J I 2015 "The Tree-Ring Dating of Pine Slash, Hanover County, Virginia" unpublished Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory archive report 2015/05.


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Contact Information

Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory

Proprietors
Michael Worthington
Jane Seiter, Ph.D

25 E. Montgomery St.
Baltimore, MD 21230

410-929-1520

michael@dendrochronology.com