White Oak from the Woods

White oak is somewhat scarce in Ipswich today though in 1657 it was still abundant. The AKH Team contacted Master Logger Tim Robinson from Barre, MA where white oak can still be found. He generously allowed us to come to his job at Camp Putnam in New Braintree, MA. There Jim, using his favorite English ax, cut and hewed one of the sills for the Alexander Knight House. The best trees for hewing grew in the forest, without lower branches, eliminating knots. After the tree was felled it would be cut to length and hewn where it lay.