Kings wood in a Gloucester MA attic
Ever wonder about those really, really, wide pine floors we find in our New England homes? They have a very interesting history in our country. Interestingly, enough they may have been just as influential in the American Revolution as the Boston Tea Party! The British fell in love with the white Pine species of trees for their usefulness as light, strong and exceedingly tall masts of sailing ships, & the British Navy. They were considered so valuable that the “Kings men” (militia) went through the virgin New England forests marking the most desirable trees (widest & tallest) to be saved for shipment to the British Monarch. Three hatchet marks in the shape of an arrow was called The Kings Broad Arrow”. These trees (24 inches or more in diameter) were so important that they were mentioned in The Charter of Massachusetts Bay 1691.
The Broad Arrow
Predictably over time, the colonists became less and less willing to surrender the resources of the colonies to the British Monarch. They began ignoring the Kings Mark and harvesting these premier trees for them selves and using it for their own needs, which were usually for building structures instead of supporting the British monarchy and its Navy. It became more and more apparent to the British they were fighting a losing battle as the trees mysteriously disappeared and the New England forests became devoid of the tallest and widest white pine trees.
And now comes the part we are slightly familiar with. The King decided to tax the colonists on the width of the boards in their homes…with a caveat. The Kings men inspecting the homes for board width(s) were not allowed to go beyond the first floor of the home or structure. The colonists (not being dumb) then proceeded to use all the “best wood” or widest boards on the second & third floors. Hence, many of our second and third floors in our oldest homes in New England have incredibly wide floor boards. A little repeated fact is that this floor tax caused The Pine Tree Riot which was a precursor to the Boston Tea Party!
(haglundc/Flickr)
