Preventative restoration on the outside

It is obvious that the clapboard siding on the cabin is not original though it probably had some sort of siding originally.

Intact siding from under other building.

The siding is made of American Chestnut and has worm holes in it. If the wood had been cut before the blight it would not have the worm holes so the siding cannot be much more than about 100 year old.

Since the roof is leaking and the water runs right down the side of the building it is necessary to take the siding off to allow the building to dry out. I started with the side covered by the other portion of the old buildings because it is an appropriate wood to use for floor repairs. The hand-hewn logs are in good shape for the most part. Most of the chink and daub has fallen apart leaving only chinking material.

A portion of the front of the cabin after the removal of the siding
Notice the white plaster on the daub

This chink remains leaves some tantalizing clues about life in those days in frontier Virginia. I found bones and a corn cob. The corn cob is very small compared to the modern equivalent so it is almost certainly Indian Maize. I do not know enough about bones to know what they were eating. It seems likely that at least a portion of the time the cabin was without siding because the daub shows white plaster over the mud to protect it from the elements.





After removing as much as I could safely reach of the covered side I removed a portion of the other side and all of the siding from the front of the cabin. It looks a lot better now that it has started drying out. The wood above the top of the door had been taken off when the siding was added so I took a piece of the edge board and made a new top for the door. Since it is nice original board it is hard to tell it has not always been that way.












Here is the portion removed from the chimney side of the house. Notice the nice "V" notch style joints. Hopefully I will have time tomorrow to finish removing the rest of the siding on this side.