New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/20/2013 -- A report of interest to woodworkers like Kevin Craffey K&J Interiors is that the United States’ oldest standing woodworking shop has been discovered behind a 19th century home in Plymouth, Massachusetts much to his surprise.

Kevin Craffey entrepreneur was fascinated by the fact that the historic woodshop was discovered accidently by a history professor from the University of Delaware, Ritchie Garrison. Garrison and associate Michael Burrey head up the University of Delaware’s Winterthur Program in American Material Culture and had arrived to the old home to oversee its careful renovation into a preschool.

The treasure that they ended up discovering lay in an old garden shed behind the home. While renovating the old shed, Garrison found a date painted in an obscure location that provided a trace point that could easily go back to a construction date of 1789 or before which makes it the oldest existing woodworking shop on record in the United States.

Various unspoiled clues that a professional woodworker such as Kevin Craffey carpenter might notice pointed to the building’s woodworking shop origins. Within the old garden shed were original workbenches that were still in good shape and made from woods that would have existed abundantly in the area in the 18th century. An expert in dendrochronology (history of trees based on reading rings) reported that the wood would have been from the second or third generation of trees planted by the first European settlers to the continent.

There were also signs of a once existing fireplace that had been removed at some point. Fireplaces, as woodworking history buffs like Kevin Craffey entrepreneur know, were a common item in woodworking shops before the days of electricity due to the need for heating glue which had to reach a certain temperature in order to be used effectively.

What Kevin Craffey MA found most interesting about the discovery was that the original woodshop was traced back to Luther Sampson, a master carpenter. The information was found buried in the local records for Plymouth at that time period.

Garrison and other experts are pressing for the old woodworking shop to be designated as a national historic landmark due to its link to the roots of American traditions and history. All parties involved are seeking to come up with a plan that preserves the historic woodshop and yet allows the nearby preschool to function normally, something that Kevin Craffey K&J Interiors finds exciting.

The addition of the 18th century woodworking shop, the oldest known structure of its kind, to the Plymouth community and United States historical register would be a wonderful goal and a nice historical conversation piece for area businesses such as Kevin Craffey MA.

Name: Dominic Rutherander
E-mail: dominicrutherander@gmail.com
Location: City of New York, New York