Maryland

Black Friars Tobacco Barn, Newburg, Maryland (38.364965, -76.904059)

Primary Barn Felling Dates: Summer 1836, Winter 1835/6

Site Master 1678-1835 (white oak) BFMDx1 (t = 14.77 MDOAK; 11.40 CRMDx1; 10.56 ESHORE2).

Description of the Black Friars Tobacco Barn by Dennis Pogue:

The Black Friars Tobacco Barn is a heavy timber framed building, joined and raised in the traditional manner, with a gable-roofed main section measuring 80’4” E-W x 20’4” N-S in dimension, combined with an original earthfast shed 15’9” wide running the length of the south wall. The barn is organized into four irregular bays, with transverse sills spanning between the three inner principal post pairs. Paired posts frame two single-width doorways in both the north and south walls to provide access to the two inner bays; similar doorways are centered on the end walls leading to the outer bays. While the bays are irregular in size, they are roughly divisible by 4’, and the roof frame follows that pattern. Each rafter pair contains three tiers of collars, with the bottom two tiers braced by boards attached to the center of the joists. The unusual height of the walls allowed for five hanging tiers in the body of the barn to go along with 2-3 tiers within the roof. In addition to its remarkable size, the barn is notable for several unusual features. These include the use of spaced vertical battens attached to the wall facing the shed, which was intended to promote ventilation; “clenched,” double-tenon joints to secure the sills, posts, and plates; and a system of tier supports for hanging tobacco poles that incorporated rails anchored to posts running down the center of the body of the building.

Dendrochronological analysis has shown that the building was constructed from timbers felled in the winter of 1835/6 and the summer of 1836.

Worthington and Seiter 2024 "The Tree-Ring Dating of the Black Friars Tobacco Barn, Newburg, Maryland." Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory 2024/21.

Oxford

Tree-Ring

Laboratory

The Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory provides cutting-edge commercial dendrochronological services to homeowners, architectural historians, and cultural resource managers. READ MORE

Contact Information

Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory

25 E. Montgomery St.
Baltimore, MD 21230

410-929-1520