At the January 2025 Board of Directors meeting, the Chelmsford Historical Society approved funding for a dendrochronology study of the Barrett-Byam Homestead to determine when the homestead was built.
The study, performed by Bill Flynt, a noted dendrochronologist retired from Historic Deerfield, involved sampling and analyzing 10 timbers and logs used in the building’s frame to determine their age. The logs serve as floor joists supporting the west parlor on the first floor. Because the walls of the first and second floors made the frame inaccessible, access to the frame timbers had to come from the basement. Fortunately, the basement is extremely dry, and the timbers are in great shape. Tree ring analysis, it was hoped, would determine their age.
Unfortunately, the dendrochronology study was inconclusive due to a variety of factors:
• Of the 10 samples taken, only seven were usable. The other three broke apart, making it impossible to determine the last year of growth (LYOG).
• A floating master could not be developed. A floating master would show the relationship between the timbers in the house, allowing their ages to be determined. It is possible, even probable, that the timbers came from different sawmills, with each mill sourcing logs from various timber stands.
• The samples were tested against multiple regional dated masters, but the results were mixed. There is some evidence that one timber was cut in 1724 and others in 1811. This supports the theory that the original house was built in 1725, with a large-scale renovation occurring in the early 19th century. However, there is also evidence of various other dates for these timbers, leaving the results inconclusive.
Although the study could not determine the homestead’s age at this time, all is not lost. Data from the samples has been added to an international tree-ring database, a common repository containing current and future samples that can be used in later analyses. Additionally, software tools using artificial intelligence are being developed to perform more robust analyses. Finally, if future work on the house temporarily exposes the internal framework, additional dendrochronology samples could be taken.
The Barrett-Byam Homestead is a valuable piece of Chelmsford’s history. Once the planting grounds of the Pennacook Indians, possibly the childhood home of an accused witch, home to generations of farmers, and now the site of the Chelmsford Historical Society, this Chelmsford original has many stories to tell.
When it was built is just one more story the homestead will keep to itself a little longer.
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