Last week a tree-ring test by researchers from Oxford, England, denied a claim that the Balch House in Beverly was the oldest standing timber-framed house in the country and gave Dedham history buffs a reason to smile.
"We have always claimed to be the oldest house," said Dedham Historical Society Executive Director Ronald Frazier after the announcement last Thursday. "We try to be accurate and I am happy to say this means we were right."
In 2002, a study of old houses sponsored by the New England Historic Genealogical Society dated the oldest wood in the Fairbanks House to 1637, a year later than the 1636 thought to be the house's birth date and painted white on its chimney.
Members of the Beverly Historical Society jumped at the chance to claim the Balch House in that town was built in 1636, making it the oldest wooden house in America. But a study by the Oxford Dendrochronology Laboratory released last week said the oldest wood in the Balch House was cut down in 1679.
Yesterday, Alexandra Service, curator of the Fairbanks House, said although Fairbanks Historical Association members were not fixating on the oldest house mantle, the results were good news.
"It's nice to have confirmation of it," Service said. "In a sense we wish it didn't matter, but people like to have a catch phrase."
Service said the debate over which house was oldest underlined how difficult it can be to attach historical certainty to events happening more than 300 years ago. She pointed out that the age of the Fairbanks House had been wrong before, and while timber in the house had been dated to 1637, other wood samples in the same room had come back with a 1640 date.
"We tell people in tours what we know," Service said. "As far as we know it is the oldest timber-framed house in the country."
The original 1636 claims by both the Fairbanks and Balch houses were based on the dates the families who built the houses acquired the land. There were no records saying either house was built directly after the land was acquired.
Service said there were no plans to change the 1636 on the chimney or plaques outside the house to 1637.
Last week a tree-ring test by researchers from Oxford, England, denied a claim that the Balch House in Beverly was the oldest standing timber-framed house in the country and gave Dedham history buffs a reason to smile.
"We have always claimed to be the oldest house," said Dedham Historical Society Executive Director Ronald Frazier after the announcement last Thursday. "We try to be accurate and I am happy to say this means we were right."
In 2002, a study of old houses sponsored by the New England Historic Genealogical Society dated the oldest wood in the Fairbanks House to 1637, a year later than the 1636 thought to be the house's birth date and painted white on its chimney.
Members of the Beverly Historical Society jumped at the chance to claim the Balch House in that town was built in 1636, making it the oldest wooden house in America. But a study by the Oxford Dendrochronology Laboratory released last week said the oldest wood in the Balch House was cut down in 1679.
Yesterday, Alexandra Service, curator of the Fairbanks House, said although Fairbanks Historical Association members were not fixating on the oldest house mantle, the results were good news.
"It's nice to have confirmation of it," Service said. "In a sense we wish it didn't matter, but people like to have a catch phrase."
Service said the debate over which house was oldest underlined how difficult it can be to attach historical certainty to events happening more than 300 years ago. She pointed out that the age of the Fairbanks House had been wrong before, and while timber in the house had been dated to 1637, other wood samples in the same room had come back with a 1640 date.
"We tell people in tours what we know," Service said. "As far as we know it is the oldest timber-framed house in the country."
The original 1636 claims by both the Fairbanks and Balch houses were based on the dates the families who built the houses acquired the land. There were no records saying either house was built directly after the land was acquired.
Service said there were no plans to change the 1636 on the chimney or plaques outside the house to 1637.
"Some of the family members have grown accustomed to it," she said.
Tree-ring dating, known as dendrochronology, calculates the year wood within a house was cut down, but cannot say when construction actually occurred.
Service said one of the most interesting things about the Fairbanks House, is that its longevity and preservation is connected, at least partially, to the bloody past of a former resident.
In 1802, Jason Fairbanks was accused of murdering a girl in a nearby field. The Fairbanks family launched what, for the time, was a massive media campaign to clear his name. The effort, which failed, eventually pushed the family close to poverty.
"When a lot of people were tearing their old houses down, they could not afford to update the house or even put in plumbing," Service said. "That event is why the house is so intact today."
But not everyone with a connection to the Fairbanks House is celebrating or drawing attention to the timber dating.
Jonathan Fairbanks, a descendent of the builders and an authority on the house's history, said last week he thought people should get beyond the debate about being the oldest.
"We have more important things to do," he said.
Guided tours of the Fairbanks House, which resume after a winter break, run every hour from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Daily News staff writer can be reached at 781-433-8336 or by e-mail at panderso@cnc.com.
