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An Architectural Time Capsule

As modifications and repairs are made to homes over the years, they often become architectural time capsules. Underneath all of the layers of alterations lies evidence of what once was, and in some cases is still there. Here at Long Branch, this couldn’t be more true.  Located inside of our beautiful porticos you can still find the original roof!

Hugh and Adelaide Nelson added the porticos to Long Branch in the late 1840s or early 1850s. At this time, they constructed over the original roof; leaving Long Branch with a roof inside of a roof! Years of being covered and shielded from the elements has preserved the roof, out of site and out of mind, for all of this time.

The original roof appears to be made of white oak shingles; each one would have been spilt and planed by hand. A time consuming job!

The original roof inside the porticos.
The original roof inside of the porticos.

To make each individual shingle, the shingle makers would have started with a bolt: a straight-grained section of logs cut into the desired shingle length. Typically, these bolts would use the inner-section of the log, called the heartwood. The outer portions of the log (the sapwood) were softer and would deteriorate quicker. Using a mallet and a froe (or axe), the shingle maker would rive or split off thin pieces of wood. They would then use a shaving horse and a drawknife to plane each shingle, smoothing out any irregularities and shaping the shingle to its finished project. Eventually, steam powered saw mills would take over this task. With the help of machines this process was much faster and produced shingles that were even and matching in size.

Today, you can see a few of these shingles in person in the History Detective exhibit and learn about the other mysteries we are uncovering everyday here at Long Branch!

-Linda Eckley, Historic Preservation Intern at Long Branch Plantation

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