First on Facebook – June 16, 2021
Part III of IIIRichard (Moby) Marks, preservation contractor, continues his explanation of Drayton Hall construction in the mid-1700s:What do visitors not see about the floorboards?Visitors may not appreciate the flooring because all the pine boards on the first and second floors were dowelled together horizontally.When you look at pattern and price books of the mid-18th century, dowelled floors were the most expensive. Why? Materials and hand labor.They would literally lay the floorboards down, drill holes horizontally by hand into the sides, insert a handmade dowel, and drill another hole in the next board, and using the dowels, fit each board together, side by side, like a puzzle.By keeping the floors level and secure, the dowels prevented the boards from moving up and down or twisting.While not visible to visitors, the doweling still keeps the floorboards even and straight just as we see them today and as they’ve been for some 270 years.Excerpt from my new book “Drayton Hall: A Place and Its People,” due out this fall 2021.
Preview my new book “Drayton Hall Stories: A Place and Its People”
George W. McDaniel, Ph.D., is President of McDaniel Consulting, LLC, a strategy firm that helps organizations use history to build bridges within itself and to its broader constituents. The company’s tag line, “Building Bridges through History,” is grounded in McDaniel’s personal beliefs and his experience in site management, preservation, education, board development, fundraising, and community outreach. Rather than using history to divide us, he strives to help organizations use history, especially local history, to enhance cross-cultural understanding and to support local museums, preservation, and education. Dr. McDaniel led volunteer efforts with Emanuel AME Church and historical organizations in Charleston to use historic preservation to enhance racial reconciliation and healing. McDaniel is also the Executive Director Emeritus of Drayton Hall, a historic site in Charleston, SC, owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. He retired from Drayton Hall in 2015 after 25 years of distinguished service.
A frequent writer, speaker, and facilitator about such issues, he can be reached at gmcdaniel4444@gmail.com or through his website at www.mcdanielconsulting.net.
All images courtesy of the author unless otherwise noted.
McDaniel Consulting LLC is a strategy firm that helps organizations use history to build bridges within itself and its broader constituents.