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Archiver > SAR-TALK > 2003-12 > 1070518971


From: "James F Lyons Sr" <>
Subject: [[SAR-TALK]] RE: [[SAR-TALK]] Re: frontier structures
Date: Wed, 3 Dec 2003 23:23:54 -0700
In-Reply-To: <BBF4018C.160%Patriot1@AmericanRevolution.org>


Deart Compatriot--

Do you know the era when the nail making machine came into common use.

Thank you.

Jim Lyons
IDSSAR
Pro se

-----Original Message-----
From: Ed St.Germain [mailto:]
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2003 9:10 PM
To:
Subject: [[SAR-TALK]] Re: frontier structures


> I was expecting
> something like Williamsburg minus people, with buildings in good condition
> or at least there, but most were wood in the area.

Michael:

Good reason for that. There was a whole continent of wood at their disposal.
But...nails were labor intensive to make, one at a time, and hence
expensive. A twelve-penny nail wasn't a size, as it is today, it was what
the blacksmith charged for one that size.

Soooo...if you were picking up and moving west, the last thing you did
before leaving was to burn down your house and remove the nails from the
ashes.

Thus, most 17th and 18th century houses in America that are extant are those
of rich folk, or houses occupied by several generations until after the
advent of the nail-making machine.

Best regards,
Ed St.Germain, #94142
Riverside, CA


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