Stagville Scarf Joint

Stagville Scarf Joint

Timber Framing Material Evidence

This is an example of a scarf joint from the Great Barn at Stagville. This one is a stop-slayed, undersquinted scarf joint with a wedge, one of the strongest scarf joints that demonstrates a tremendous amount of skill.

Hunter S. Rhodes

Hunter S. Rhodes

Hunter S. Rhodes

Object: exact date unknown, likely middle 19th century

Photo: April 5, 2019

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Hunter S. Rhodes

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12.3MP
3036 × 4048
3.9 MB
JPEG

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Color photograph

Timber Frame

This particular scarf joint, while not shown from the Horton Grove home, shows a method that is incredibly strong and takes a tremendous amount of skill to employ, and could very well have a presence in the home, although I could not see it during my time there.

What is noteworthy about this joint in particular, though, is the history surrounding it. During the time of construction of this barn, likely close to 1860, Paul Cameron, the enslaver who owned Stagville, set his mind on having his enslaved woodworkers construct a lot of timber frame buildings, including this barn and Horton Grove. With that history in mind, it seems highly likely that the at least some of the same people made this barn as made Horton Grove, meaning that the same tremendous skill we see in this scarf joint went into the construction of the timber framed Horton Grove home.