A yardstick is too short to measure this 42 inch pine board. Can you imagine the girth of the tree which produced it, or the amazement of the settlers who were confronted with whole forests of such trees? Many of these trees had to be chopped and burnt in order to clear the land but some were sawed into wide boards and were used to make furniture. It is impossible to date a piece of furniture only by the width of the boards used in its construction. Wide boards go with forests and first settlement. Thus, while most of the wide boards were used up in early-settled Southern Ontario by 1840, cabinetmakers still had lots of wide boards to work with in counties such as Grey which were not opened up until the 1850's. Wide boards, then, indicate that the piece is early for the area in which it was made.
Courtesy: Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Authority: Black Creek Pioneer Village
