[MassHistPres] chimney colors

[Zimmerman Sally]

James Garvin, staff architectural historian for the New Hampshire SHPO
nicely debunked the legend of the Tory chimney in a listserv entry to
the Vernacular Architecture Form in August, 2003. Perhaps someone with
electronic access to that forum could re-post it here!
Sally Zimmerman
 
Sally Zimmerman
Manager of Historic Preservation Services
Historic Homeowner Program
185 Lyman Street
Waltham, MA 02452-5645
New Phone Contact: 
(617) 994-6644 Direct
 

>>> Ann Morgan <MorganA at GRAFTON-MA.GOV> 6/23/2010 2:44 PM >>>
An excellent book for those interested in the Underground Railroad and
various ways to signal safe houses and pathways:

Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground
Railroad
Jacqueline L. Tobin (Author), Raymond G. Dobard (Author)

Ann V. Morgan
Assistant Planner
(508) 839-5335  Ext. 145
(508) 839-4602 - FAX
www.grafton-ma.gov 

When responding, please remember the Secretary of State considers
e-mail a public record.
 Consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu [mailto:masshistpres-
> bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Tucker, Jonathan
> Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2010 2:29 PM
> To: Dennis De Witt; MHC MHC listserve
> Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] chimney colors
>
> Pretty high.  The Colonial Revival movement was pervasive in New
> England, and has had several periods of 'echo' thereafter in house
> design.
>
> Just to keep matters thoroughly confused, I have seen references to
the
> practice of painting a white line around a chimney (as opposed to
> painting the entire chimney white with a black cap) as an indicator
of
> a
> 'safe house' on the Underground Railroad, one among many such
'signs',
> which include displaying particular kinds of quilts in specific
ways,
> smoke coming out of chimneys at odd hours, etc.
>
> I would not put much stock in the fact that there is often enclosed
> space around chimneys in 18th century homes.  Such spaces were not
> built
> as slave hideaways but for more prosaic reasons--such as keeping the
> inevitable chimney fires from touching the interior timbers of the
> house
> just long enough for there to be time to put the fires out before
the
> whole place went up.
>
> Jonathan Tucker
> Planning Director
> Amherst Planning Department
> 4 Boltwood Avenue, Town Hall
> Amherst, MA  01002
> (413) 259-3040
> tuckerj at amherstma.gov 
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu 
> [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Dennis De Witt
> Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2010 11:38 AM
> To: MHC MHC listserve
> Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] chimney colors
>
> What are the odds that this is on many house a Col. Rev. era
> affectation? -- whatever the purported message.
>
> Dennis De Witt
>
>
> On Jun 23, 2010, at 11:03 AM, John Worden wrote:
>
> > My understanding of the white with black cap chimneys is the same
as
> Mr. Hadley's - Tory sympathizer - but I suspect this was more in the
> pre-Revolutionary era.
> >
> > Since harboring a runaway slave was a criminal act, it seems
unlikely
> that such an obvious public signal would be employed.
> >
> > For what it's worth our house (1903 colonial revival) has always
had
> its chimneys painted in this manner.
> >
> > John Worden
> > Arlington HDC
> >
> >
> > **********
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> > ----- Original Message ----- From:
<masshistpres-request at cs.umb.edu>
> > To: <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
> > Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2010 9:11 AM
> > Subject: MassHistPres Digest, Vol 52, Issue 14
> >
> >
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> >> Today's Topics:
> >>
> >>  1. Underground Railroad and Chimneys (Marian Pierre-Louis)
> >>  2. Re: Underground Railroad and Chimneys (Ann Morgan)
> >>  3. Re: Underground Railroad and Chimneys (james hadley)
> >>
> >>
> >>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>
> >> Message: 1
> >> Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2010 06:54:57 -0400
> >> From: "Marian Pierre-Louis" <mpl at fieldstonehistoricresearch.com>
> >> Subject: [MassHistPres] Underground Railroad and Chimneys
> >> To: "'MassHistPres'" <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
> >> Message-ID: <003101cb12c2$8560f370$9022da50$@com>
> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Recently I was touring an 18th century colonial in my area that
had
> an
> >> enclosed space around the chimney on the first floor that was
> supposedly
> >> used for hiding runaway slaves.  The owner told me that he had
heard
> that a
> >> white chimney with a black cap was a symbol that the house was
part
> of the
> >> Underground Railroad.  Is there any truth to this?  If so, can
you
> suggest
> >> any sources that I can refer to for further information?   I did
do
> a
> Google
> >> search and found that others mentioned the same thing but I
wasn't
> able to
> >> find any definitive source to show me that it was anything more
than
> >> folklore.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Thanks!
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Marian Pierre-Louis
> >>
> >> Medway Historical Commission
> >>
> >> Medway, MA
> >>
> >> -------------- next part --------------
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> >>
> >> ------------------------------
> >>
> >> Message: 2
> >> Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:08:01 -0400
> >> From: Ann Morgan <MorganA at GRAFTON-MA.GOV>
> >> Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Underground Railroad and Chimneys
> >> To: "'MassHistPres'" <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
> >> Message-ID: <E6B2A1837A5D174983C69F2EB0616F9D0CC8919438 at murphy>
> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> >>
> >> I'd be interested as well.  Our house (c. 1786) has a similar set
up
> in the basement and has had a white chimney / black cap for as long
as
> anyone in town can remember including the now 90 year old fellow who
> grew up in the house.  We had a chimney restoration company
> specializing
> in antique homes out to the house last summer.  The fellow told us
that
> the color scheme on the chimney was an indication of political
> affiliation.  It would be great to know which (if either) is
correct.
> We've got at least three buildings within a 2 mile radius of my
house
> that, local legend has it, were on the Underground Railroad.  So,
> either
> explanation could be plausible or, at the least, charming folklore.
> >>
> >>
> >> Ann V. Morgan
> >> Assistant Planner
> >> (508) 839-5335  Ext. 145
> >> (508) 839-4602 - FAX
> >> www.grafton-ma.gov<www.town.grafton.ma.us%20>
> >>
> >> When responding, please remember the Secretary of State considers
> e-mail a public record.
> >> P Consider the environment before printing this e-mail.
> >>
> >> From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu 
> [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Marian
> Pierre-Louis
> >> Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2010 6:55 AM
> >> To: 'MassHistPres'
> >> Subject: [MassHistPres] Underground Railroad and Chimneys
> >>
> >>
> >> Recently I was touring an 18th century colonial in my area that
had
> an enclosed space around the chimney on the first floor that was
> supposedly used for hiding runaway slaves.  The owner told me that
he
> had heard that a white chimney with a black cap was a symbol that
the
> house was part of the Underground Railroad.  Is there any truth to
> this?
> If so, can you suggest any sources that I can refer to for further
> information?   I did do a Google search and found that others
mentioned
> the same thing but I wasn't able to find any definitive source to
show
> me that it was anything more than folklore.
> >>
> >> Thanks!
> >>
> >> Marian Pierre-Louis
> >> Medway Historical Commission
> >> Medway, MA
> >>
> >>
>
______________________________________________________________________
> >> This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security
> System.
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> >>
>
______________________________________________________________________
> >>
> >>
>
______________________________________________________________________
> >> This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security
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>
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> >>
> >> ------------------------------
> >>
> >> Message: 3
> >> Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:11:03 -0400
> >> From: james hadley <jameswhadley at hotmail.com>
> >> Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Underground Railroad and Chimneys
> >> To: <morgana at grafton-ma.gov>, <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
> >> Message-ID: <SNT105-W14CF14079B7A1AABBB5429D5C50 at phx.gbl>
> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"
> >>
> >>
> >> For what it is worth, here on Cape Cod the white/black chinmey
color
> is understood as Tory affiliation during the revolutionary war.
> >>
> >> Jim Hadley, orleans Historical Commission.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> From: MorganA at GRAFTON-MA.GOV 
> >> To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu 
> >> Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:08:01 -0400
> >> Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Underground Railroad and Chimneys
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> I?d be interested as well.  Our house (c. 1786) has a similar set
up
> in the basement and has had a white chimney / black cap for as long
as
> anyone in town can remember including the now 90 year old fellow who
> grew up in the house.  We had a chimney restoration company
> specializing
> in antique homes out to the house last summer.  The fellow told us
that
> the color scheme on the chimney was an indication of political
> affiliation.  It would be great to know which (if either) is
correct.
> We?ve got at least three buildings within a 2 mile radius of my
house
> that, local legend has it, were on the Underground Railroad.  So,
> either
> explanation could be plausible or, at the least, charming folklore.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Ann V. Morgan
> >> Assistant Planner
> >> (508) 839-5335  Ext. 145
> >> (508) 839-4602 - FAX
> >> www.grafton-ma.gov 
> >>
> >> When responding, please remember the Secretary of State considers
> e-mail a public record.
> >> P Consider the environment before printing this e-mail.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu 
> [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Marian
> Pierre-Louis
> >> Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2010 6:55 AM
> >> To: 'MassHistPres'
> >> Subject: [MassHistPres] Underground Railroad and Chimneys
> >>
> >>
> >> Recently I was touring an 18th century colonial in my area that
had
> an enclosed space around the chimney on the first floor that was
> supposedly used for hiding runaway slaves.  The owner told me that
he
> had heard that a white chimney with a black cap was a symbol that
the
> house was part of the Underground Railroad.  Is there any truth to
> this?
> If so, can you suggest any sources that I can refer to for further
> information?   I did do a Google search and found that others
mentioned
> the same thing but I wasn?t able to find any definitive source to
show
> me that it was anything more than folklore.
> >>
> >> Thanks!
> >>
> >> Marian Pierre-Louis
> >> Medway Historical Commission
> >> Medway, MA
> >>
> >>
>
______________________________________________________________________
> >> This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security
> System.
> >> For more information please visit http://www.messagelabs.com/email

> >>
>
______________________________________________________________________
> >>
>
______________________________________________________________________
> >> This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security
> System.
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> >>
>
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