Built To Last: The History and Practice of Timber Frame Construction Buildings in the Mohawk Valley

Presenter: Walter Richard Wheeler

Dedrochronological  sampling—a process in which cores of structural elements are taken and  dated by correlating them to known patterns of tree growth—is a powerful  tool that can be used to help understand the evolution of construction  techniques, as well as providing a scientifically-based approach to the  dating of particular buildings.  This talk will present the results of a  group of sampling projects undertaken in the region during the past 16  years, which have served to affirm traditional dates of some of the  state’s most famous buildings—and have overturned conventional  interpretations for others.

Walter  Richard Wheeler is Senior Architectural Historian at Hartgen  Archeological Associates, Inc., and is President of Hudson-Mohawk  Vernacular Architecture (www.hmvarch.org).  He has written extensively on the subject of vernacular architecture in New York State.