Maryland

Appleby, Cambridge, Maryland (38.557207, -76.078062)

Felling Date: Primary HouseSummer 1771

Felling Date: Riven Oak Clapboard EnclosureWinter 1771/2

Individual timber 1633-1770 (yellow pine) apmd1 (t = 8.45 BYMDx2; 7.23 SJC; 6.83 VAPINE2B). Site master 1677-1771 (white oak) APMDx2 (t = 8.81 ESHORE2; 7.76 RHMDx1; 7.74 MDOAK).

Now located in the midst of a mid-20th-century subdivision, the historic house of Appleby was once the center of an extensive working plantation. It consists of an original two-story, three-bay, double-pile main dwelling with four brick chimneys that has been extensively modified throughout its lifetime. One unusual feature of the house is a riven oak clapboard enclosure that still survives in the attic. Built to enclose the south attic room, it likely served as accommodation for enslaved workers or as locked storage space.

Dendrochronological analysis has resulted in the successful dating of Appleby. One of the timbers from the primary construction phase provided a felling date of the summer of 1771 while another sample taken from the clapboard enclosure provided a felling date of the winter of 1771/2, suggesting that both the house and the enclosure were constructed as part of the same building campaign from the summer of 1771 into the winter of 1771/2 or shortly thereafter.

Worthington and Seiter 2020 The Tree-Ring Dating of Appleby, Cambridge, Maryland Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory 2020/09.

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