Tree-ring dating of timbers from Sabine Hill, home of General Nathaniel Taylor, Elizabethton, Tennessee, USA

Historians believe that the main two-story structure called Sabine Hill at the Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area in Elizabethton, Tennessee represents the house possibly built by General Nathaniel Taylor beginning around 1814 or 1815. We conducted a dendrochronological investigation on hewn logs and squared beams from several locations within Sabine Hill to determine the years when the trees were harvested and incorporated into the historic structure. We were able to collect and eventually crossdate tree rings from 26 beams and logs. These samples yielded a chronology spanning AD 1698 to 1818 and showed a statistically significant correlation (r = 0.47, n = 121 years, t = 5.86, p < 0.0001) with an absolutely dated oak data set composed of chronologies previously developed across the southeastern USA. We found that several logs from the cellar and one wall post were cut in 1818 while one wall post was cut in spring of 1819. One wall post from the “hyphen” room, believed to be a later addition, had a cutting date of late 1848 to early 1849. All other samples had outermost rings that were near- or non-cutting dates. These findings suggest that General Taylor had little to do with the actual construction of Sabine Hill because he had passed away two years prior to the first harvesting of trees used to build Sabine Hill. Our study demonstrates how dendrochronology can clarify the years of construction and the likely builders of historic structures, adding depth and understanding to the rich history of early Tennessee.