This blog follows the reconstruction of the Revolutionary War Public Armoury on the James Anderson site
Reconstruction of the Blacksmith's & Public Armoury
September 21, 2012
Quiet at the Armoury? Hardly.
We mark this last day of summer at the Armoury not by slowing down, but by picking up the pace. Next Friday, September 28th, Historic Trades Carpenters will raise the frame for the Armoury’s north storage building…a more substantial structure than its name implies (but more about that in an upcoming blog post). In November, footings and foundations will be laid for a workshop and a second storage building, while December brings the raising of the tin shop frame.
Building activity at this level requires the committment and labor of many, and as you might expect, each “raising” is preceded by hours of preparation. This week’s gallery gives you a glimpse of the activity both on, and off, the site as various trades people contribute to the reconstruction and interpretation of James Anderson’s Blacksmith Shop and Public Armoury.
-Photo credits Meredith Poole and Mark Fluehr.
- In preparation for next week's frame raising, carpenters set the sills for the north storage building.
- Sills in place for the north storage building.
- North storage building sills and summer beam in place.
- Jack splitting shingles at Great Hopes Plantation.
- Jack and Bobby making shingles for the Armoury shops and storage buildings.
- It will take thousands of shingles to cover the remaining Armoury buildings. (We're ready!)
- Steve making a lock for the tin shop.
- The new blacksmith shop, the heart of the Public Armoury.
- The Armoury has been a popular attraction with visitors this summer.
- Workbench in the new shop.
- Dennis and Melissa preparing a meal in the Anderson kitchen.
- Eleanor at home in the kitchen.
- Excavation of the "pit feature." Is it a saw pit?
- Archaeologist Jeff demonstrates proper 18th-century pipe smoking!
- An iron key found near the bottom of the pit feature.
- A tobacco pipe recovered from the pit feature this week.
- Construction of the tin shop chimney stack nears completion.
Funded by a generous gift from Forrest E. Mars Jr., of Big Horn, Wyoming.
iCitizenForum
Christine Hansley says:
Hi Armoury Crew,
Thanks for the update and photos. And the reminder of how many people it took then and takes now to build any type of building. We really take our current day technology for granted.
Thanks again for all you do.
Chris
Meredith Poole says:
Chris~ I think I speak for us all when I say that it’s a pleasure! Enjoy your weekend.
Jim H. says:
Always fascinating to see the construction. The photos really show a great progression. I can say that the new Armoury is an amazing shop and I know that Ken, Steve, Chris and the rest are probably enjoying it as much as we are.
Frederick W. Noesner says:
Would love to receive information in text form. My computer reads using WindowEyes because I am totally blind!
Christine Hansley says:
Hi Armoury Crew,
The storage building frame raising looks good. I was able to see about 5 minutes of it. What is the firepit that I see there, for? Is that the outdoor forge?
Thanks for all you do.
Have a great weekend,
Chris
Christine Hansley says:
Hi Meredith,
Thanks for being a surrogate cat scratcher.
Thanks for the heads-up on the storage shed filming. I will watch for it.
I had a thought about the large “sawpit.” What did the forges use for the fires. Wood if I am not mistaken. With 4 forges in the Armoury, a fireplace in the Tin Shop, a firelace in the kitchen and the bread oven to keep burning, plus the firepit I questioned about above,they would have needed a lot of firewood. Would slaves have been used for this hard and boring work?
Just a thought. And thaks for the updates.
Have a good evening,
Chris
MARIE says:
Really enjoyed the video on the raising of the storage frame
but I was wondering just how close are these buildings to each other? It appears that they are only feet apart or is this just the way it comes across on the webcam?
Meredith Poole says:
Marie~
No, it’s not an illusion. The Armoury and the north storage building are very, very close to one another. In fact, an earlier group of researchers interpreted the north stoage building to be part of the Armoury, which is why the 1980s reconstruction of James Anderson Blacksmith Shop was slightly longer than the current Armoury.
Archaeologists take copious notes and make even more maps and drawings while in the field. Armed with this information, it is possible to re-think our interpretations of the physical evidence at a later time…which is what has happened here. Garland Wood has prepared an interesting blog entry on the north storage building, what it seems to have been used for, and why it may have been a stand-alone structure. Look for that post early next week!