King Boards

As I've mentioned before this house we now own was built in 1839.  We have learned so far that it once was the post office for the township.  Don't know how long that was.

Unlike the last three houses we've owned this one has a basement/cellar.  The other three houses were built on slabs.  I've had an aversion to basements but don't know why so was glad those houses were without.  

I don't have much to do in the basement/cellar thankfully because the washer and dryer are on the first floor.  The furnace, water heater, oil tank for furnace are about all that's of any importance down there and I have nothing to do with them.  I did venture down there when Dan wanted me to see the"King Boards"as he called them.

If you're not familiar with that term, it refers to boards 24 inches or wider.  This from Wikipedia:

King William III [of England] enacted a new charter in October 1691 governing the Massachusetts Bay Colony, reserving for the King “all Trees of the Diameter of Twenty Four Inches and upwards” that were not previously granted to private persons.

Now as I said the house was built in 1839 and technically I don't think these were boards belonging to the King then but they do have quite a width, 23 inches, unlike what we see now in buildings.

These boards are not visible on the first floor since they now serve as support for flooring.  There are some wide floor boards on the second floor but not as wide as these.

I've included some photos of the cellar walls.

The bottom layer is wider than the top but in the walls are some very large stones.  Dan's hand used as a reference.

At the tops of the cellars walls are dressed granite blocks seen below.  These are what the floor joists are built upon.  

As a builder told us who came to check the supports, all this stone work was done without machines. to lift these blocks into place.  Quite a feat.  

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Don't know why some of my text is in white above. Can't seem to change it.