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Dates
Determining exact construction dates for America’s earliest surviving wood-framed structures is extremely challenging. To assign even an estimated date experts must rely upon a close examination of a building’s site, floor plan, timber frame, and architectural finishes as well any written documents that may exist, such as deeds, wills, and journals. In some cases, the publicized construction date is a “traditional date” that has been passed down by one building owner to the next as part of the community’s oral history.
Only in the past few years with the application of dendrochronology, the science of tree-ring dating, have verifiable construction dates been assigned to more than a dozen First Period structures in Essex County alone. The process entails comparing the pattern of tree ring growth found in samples taken from a building's oak timbers to a master chronology recently developed for oak in eastern Massachusetts. The growing number of results are dramatically refining and revising our understanding of First Period construction dates. Based on current dendrochronological research, the oldest documented house in Essex County is the Gedney House in Salem (1664-65).
Properties listed in this guide are listed with exact construction dates only when these have been confirmed through dendrochronology research. The remainder are listed as "ca." (circa) when an expert assessment of the surviving fabric and documentary evidence indicates a likely date or period, or "trad." if the date is one traditionally assigned.
Designations
Many of the properties featured in this guide have been recognized by the National Park Service as a National Historic Landmark (NHL) or included on the National Register of Historic Places either individually (NRIND) or as part of a district (NRDIS).
For more information regarding the Massachusetts Historical Commission, visit www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc.
For more information regarding the National Register of Historic Places, visit www.cr.nps.gov/nr.
This guide was made possible by a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Preservation Fund for Eastern Massachusetts, www.nationaltrust.org.