[MassHistPres] Exhibition at Westport Historical Society

[Dcolebslade at aol.com]

You are invited to attend a display called "Behind the  Shingles: 17th and 
18th Century Houses of Southern Massachusetts:  An  exhibition on reading 
the secrets of old houses through the clues that they  leave."  It will take 
place at the  Bell Schoolhouse, Westport  Historical Society, 25 Drift Road, 
Westport. Open July 11th through September  7th 2009,  Wednesday through 
Saturday 10 – 4.     Free.

“Behind the Shingles” presents the personal  collection of architectural 
historian Pete Baker and explores the essentials of  early New England 
architecture.  During a 40-year career as restoration  contractor and consultant 
on more than 200 antique structures, Pete Baker has  gathered an encyclopedic 
collection of materials from structures in southern  Massachusetts.  

In the words of Pete Baker, curator of this  exhibition: “Every old house 
has a story - in its cellar, attic, and behind its  walls: imprints from 
hinges, latches, locks and window catches; the chafe marks  from daily chores 
and thresholds worn from years of footsteps; a  broken
saucer; a pewter spoon, an English coin; and the carpenter’s scribe  marks 
and Roman numerals that link the house to the day of raising. In each  
ancient structure there are clues to the past – if we take the time and concern  
to look, to learn, to touch, to document, to preserve.  By so doing we will  
be able to give our past to the future.”

The exhibition will explore  common questions for those who live in or have 
an interest in old houses. What  to look for in an old house? How do you 
unlock the secrets of an old house, what  are the clues to the history of a 
house? When was the house built? The answers  to these questions lie in the 
structure, building materials and techniques used.  The exhibition will 
include examples of bricks, nails, windows, doors and  framing from 17th and 18 
century houses and will examine how these materials  evolved over time. The 
exhibition also explores modern techniques such as  dendrochronology which 
analyzes growth rings of
timbers used in construction  to determine the date of a house within 
arange of a few years. Many objects from  the Waite Potter House, Westport’s 
oldest house, as well as a specially  constructed model of the original house, 
will be on display.

Contact Westport Historical Society for more information  at 508 636 6011 
or westhist at gis.net or visit _www.westporthistory.com_ 
(http://www.westporthistory.com/) 

Betty Slade
Westport




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