By Heather Horton
America's oldest wooden house-the 1638 Braman-Northnagle House in Gibbstwon, NJ
The oldest surviving homes of the Mayflower Pilgrims are those of their children-the Jabez Howland House in Plymouth, Massachusetts and the John Alden House in Duxbury, Massachusetts. However, there are remaining foundations of John and Elizabeth Tilley Howland's first home in Duxbury as well as that of John and Priscilla Mullins Alden's first home in Duxbury. None of the wooden structure of these residences remains.
Fortunately, there is a wooden cabin in New Jersey which was built sometime between 1638 and 1648, approximately the same time period as the Alden and Howland homes would have been constructed and remains standing on its original site. The C.A. Northnagle Log House, also known as the Braman-Northnagle Log House, is the oldest surviving wooden structure on its original site in North America. (and for those interested in historical preservation- it's currently for sale for $262,000- with its 1732 addition- see 406 Swedesboro Rd, Gibbstown, NJ on Zillow with many additional photos)
It was built in the Colony of New Sweden-a brief attempt by Sweden to establish their own colony in North America in the area of present Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania. The Braman-Nothnagle House measures 16 by 22 feet-somewhat larger than a typical cabin which would have been about 12 by 12. (The Alden house foundation was 38 by 10.5 feet, the c 1638 John Howland house was 33 by 17.5 feet) It may have been built by Benjamin Braman. The cabin was made of oak logs that were squared with what appears to have been hand axed (by my eye). No nails were used during construction. The builder used wooden pegs called trunnel pins or treenails. The trunnel pins start as a wooden dowel with a wide wedge at one edge. They are hammered into place and the wedge keeps them in position. The cabin corners had double dovetail joints (see photo). The bricks of the fireplace (see photo) probably were taken from the ballast on a ship from Europe. There is hardware in the fireplace consistent with having been forged in a Nordic country in the 1590's. The logs were graveled and chinked and two of the logs were removable to increase ventilation. The original floor was dirt but a wood floor was added about 100 years after initial construction. The cabin was occupied until 1918, then preserved for historical interest while the owners lived in the 1732 addition.
An exterior view.
note the dovetail construction
Fireplace.
