Lumber House
Jonathan Fisher began planning a new outbuilding--what he called his lumber house or wood house--in the spring of 1810. Throughout the summer and fall of that year the parson accumulated timber for its construction, and in early November he records in his journal that he "began a miniature frame [model] for a wood house".
The frame for the lumber house was begun on November 30, 1810. The work was hired out to Mr. Messer, although the parson wrote that he assisted. By mid December the framing was in place and Fisher began to enclose his new building.
Rendering of the lumber house done by Fisher in 1826.
During the following spring the parson worked at finishing his lumber house and began constructing a wind-powered saw mill. Fisher's journal entry for March 1, 1811 states:
Went to the head of the bay and spoke for a crank for my wind wheel. Worked upon my wood house fitting in joists and hewing shaft of wind wheel. Wood house, including a saw, $76.
It apparently took over two years for the parson to perfect his saw mill. In April of 1813 he records that he "worked upon saw gear and made an attempt to saw wood [but was] greatly disappointed in my hopes." By June, however, Fisher had "set [his] lathe going by the wind" and was actively engaged in milling "shingle stuff."
The chronology of these events seem to indicate that Fisher built his lumber house in anticipation of constructing an addition to his main house (which was raised the following year in 1814). The wind-powered saw was likely installed in order to ease some of the labor of erecting this addition, while the lumber house itself was probably used as storage for building material until it was needed.
The lumber house as seen in the background of a photograph taken in the 1890s.
Although the lumber house has since been demolished, we do know a good deal of information regarding the building (including what it looked like and where it was located). In March of 1826, Fisher inked a perspective drawing of his lumber house. On the same page he recorded the following statistics regarding the building:
Lumber house and hog's yard. House 16 feet square, yard the same. Height of eves 8 feet, ridge 14 feet, martin house 24 feet. Yard fence 4 feet 6 inches. Height of door 6 feet, breadth 3 feet.
In addition, Fisher created a detailed plan of his farm and recorded the exact placement of the his various outbuildings. According to this document, the lumber house stood at the head of the current driveway. Several large stones, apparently the original foundation of the lumber house, remain in that location and can be seen by visitors to the Jonathan Fisher House.