Dispelling Myths and Confirming History: Dendroarchaeology Studies as a Means for Establishing Accurate Building Construction Dates
Date:
Speaker:
Location:
​Seating:
Wednesday, May 2, 2018 at 4 pm
Bill Flynt, Architectural Conservator, Historic Deerfield
Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge Street, Northampton, MA 01060
First come, First served
Using a drill, Bill Flynt will remove a core from the post and be able to identify the species and based on the growth pattern of the rings know the time period the tree was cut.
Ever wonder if the dates listed on some old houses are actually true? Dendroarcheologist Bill Flynt has and based on his work, he says there’s good reason to be skeptical.​ 
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For the past 15 years, Bill has been conducting dendroarchaeology studies throughout the Northeast.  By collecting tree ring samples from interior posts and beams, he has been able to identify the construction dates of nearly 200 buildings. As might be expected, his findings have helped re-write history; many of the buildings were not nearly as old as the previously-accepted date. 
During this presentation, Bill will describe how dendroarchaeology studies are done and share how these projects have changed our thinking about the development of early New England architecture. He will also discuss the results from his work on Historic Northampton's Parsons House and Shepherd Barn.  
Read the Dendrochronology Study of the Shepherd Barn by Bill Flynt here.
The 2016 dendrochronology study was funded by a grant from Northampton's Community Preservation Committee. ​
Bill Flynt holds a small core sample.  A finished sample that has been sanded can be evaluated by a computer program against a library of other known samples. The tree growth rings are like a fingerprint in recording climate in a region.
​Bill Flynt has been the Architectural Conservator at Historic Deerfield since 1979 where he has been in charge of various restorations, overseen the care of the institutions historic buildings, and conducted research on a variety of historic construction practices. He was trained in dendroarchaeology at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Tree-Ring Laboratory.