Wood is one of the most important components in the history of transportation. Nearly every mode of transportation up until modern times has used wood in one way or another, from wooden wheels to wooden ships. Iron began to change all of that and nothing was more monumental in changing the course of history then [...]
The English have had some unique holidays. One in particular celebrates a day when someone tried to blow up Parliament (Guy Fawkes Day). Another, Royal Oak Day, or Oak Apple Day celebrates the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. There is a reason it is called Royal Oak Day, though it is not particularly heroic. [...]
Few could say that they were present at the first major battle of the Civil War near Manassas, Virginia in July 1861 and at its close at Appomattox, Virginia in April 1865. A handful of senior officers can say they were, on the Union side generals Romeyn Ayres, Joseph Bartlett, Charles Griffin, Henry Hunt, James [...]
Believe it or not, we here in the United States may not know where our oldest barn is located. Our oldest farms date from the 1610s in Charles County, Virginia to the 1630s in Concord, New Hampshire and Ipswich, Massachusetts but the original barns do not survive. There is a barn in Pennsylvania where the [...]
The American Civil War was the most violent conflict this continent has ever witnessed. Central to many of the great and small battles were family farms and their barns. While many of these barns have been lost to time some of them still exist today. While they will never be used for reclaimed wood we [...]
Artillery can play a decisive role in deciding a battle or a war. History is littered with armies that were not able to bring artillery to bear on their enemy and lost significant battles. For some enterprising or desperate commanders lacking the punch that a cannon can bring they improvised and made their artillery out [...]
Perhaps no town in what became the United States other than Boston or Philadelphia witnessed more of the American Revolution than Camden, South Carolina. Located inland about 125 miles from Charleston it was an important trading post leading into the wilderness. All roads in South Carolina seemed to lead to Camden. The Catawba tribe lived [...]
One of the facts that we all learned in history class in school was that the colony of Virginia was founded because of the viability of harvesting the tobacco crop. When one thinks of tobacco you probably think about North Carolina as well. Did you know that Maryland was also founded because of the tobacco [...]
If a person that witnessed the American Revolution were alive today they would be at least 236 years old and if they would actually remember anything they would have to be older. It should go without saying that no human is still alive. For the record the oldest living human alive today (and last person [...]
For anyone who buys a farm with a barn on it or is tasked with clearing out a barn there is always a great moment of suspense when the doors are opened for the first time to reveal the inside. What will be in there? Will the barn be hiding a rare car or airplane [...]
