Reaping in the Wind

The AKH Team and a few local volunteers were joined by Rick, Michael and Shan from Plimoth Plantation. After meeting at the Whipple house in Ipswich to show our newfound friends the site of the future Alexander Knight House we departed for Essex.

It was a windy day down on the marsh behind the Essex Town Hall and the tall reeds swooshed and danced about. It wasn't long before clearings appeared in the tall grass and piles of thatching materials were bundled ready for transport. No major injuries reported before our late lunch of fried clams, french fries and onion rings across the Essex river. After lunch a quick tour of the Whipple house before the Plimoth contingency had to head south. Again the exchange of knowledge and enthusiasm was contagious and I hope they enjoyed the trip north as much as we appreciated their visit, Thanks again guys!

Reaping the Benefits - Plimoth comes to Ipswich

The Alexander Knight House (AKH) team welcomes the Plimoth Plantation Interpretive Artisans to town this Friday, September 25. The collaborative group will harvest approximately one-acre of reed for thatching the Alexander Knight House. Plimoth Plantation harvests approximately 7 acres of reed and cattail to thatch roofs in the village. The harvesting will take place in both towns of Ipswich and Essex. The reed will be gathered by the traditional First Period method using a sickle. Once the reed is gathered, it will then be dried and overwintered in preparation for Spring 2010 roofing activities at the Alexander Knight House site. For more information on this weekend’s activities log on to: www.ipswichknighthouse.org

What a great group of people we met Thursday at Plimoth Plantation. The recollections of many family trips to Plimoth became extra special as I met the people whose work I've long been impressed with and understood their dedication to "getting it right" . Misperceptions of my English forebears are everywhere, but the more we look, and study, and recreate, the closer we come to understanding how and why they lived. The group at Plimoth are so interested in looking at the evidence they and others have found, and acting on that evidence, there was a sense of companionship toward a common goal. What a day!

Treasure Hunting at Plimoth Plantation

Learning from the Best






























North meets South - the AKH team traveled to the South Shore yesterday and met with the Plimoth builders Rick, Michael, Tom and Shann. An exciting exchange of knowledge and information went on, and on, between the project members. Features of the early Plimoth houses were compared and contrasted with the Knight House along with much discussion about thatching, chimneys, and framing. A constant flow of conversation bounced from one to another, each contributing a particular view or discovery. An extremely rewarding (and fun) experience all northerners agreed; we hope our southern hosts felt the same. Our sincere thanks to them for giving us their time and we look forward to collaborating with them throughout our ongoing project.

and the dirt flew...

The official start of our project and the cellar hole is almost completely excavated - thanks to all of the shovelers!


















Jim Whidden and Mat Cummings














The ground breakers

Ground Breaking next Saturday

The foundation hole was a shallow excavation with a deeper portion for use as a root cellar. The walls were built of dry laid local stone.

White Oak preferred

Trees, best for hewing, grow in the forest and do not have branches. For the house, clear, straight grained wood is the best; White Oak is preferred as it retains its integrity and is naturally very strong and rot resistant. Trees were selected, cut to length and hewn where they fell.