• Home
  • About the Foundation
    • Volunteer Opportunities and Jobs
    • Donate Now
  • Visiting the Museum
  • Stone House Restoration Project
    • History of Ownership
    • Hybrid Drawings
    • Dendrochronology Study of the Log Addition
    • Behind the Plaster
    • Archeology
    • Progress Updates
  • Town History
    • Beginnings, 1732-1783
    • Growth, 1784-1860
    • Civil War, 1861-1865
    • Reconstruction, the Railroad and a Name Change, 1866-1899
    • The Twentieth Century and Today
    • People of Our Past
    • Primary and Secondary Sources Consulted
  • Publications
    • Images of America: Stephens City
    • Two Peoples, One Community: The African American Experience in Newtown (Stephens City), Virginia, 1850-1870
    • History of Orrick Chapel Methodist Church
    • Early Days and Methodism in Stephens City, Virginia
    • Life of a Potter, Andrew Pitman
  • Educational Programming
    • Old Tools as Simple Machines
    • The Great Wagon Road and Westward Expansion
    • Objects as Primary Sources: Historical Detective Work
  • Virtual Exhibits
    • Pandemics in New Town
      • The Worst First: Novel Plagues Hit America (1492-1758)
      • Running to the Hill: Smallpox and Sanitation in Colonial Times (1758-1760)
      • Another Scourge Among Many: Epidemics in the Civil War (1861-1865)
      • The Spanish Flu: The Story of Gervis Lemley (1918-1919)
      • It Didn’t Fade: Mildred Lee Grove and Tuberculosis (1930s-Late Twentieth Century)
  • Event Calendar
  • Related Sites & Institutions
  • Membership
    • Membership Application/Renewal
  • Contact Us
  • Try Our Tour App

Newtown History Center

Explore the 2nd Oldest Town in the Shenandoah Valley

Original Beaded Weatherboards

May 29, 2019 By Admin

Sometimes things survive on old buildings that would have been lost long ago to the elements if they had been left uncovered. Such is the case with some original siding that was left under the roof of the shed addition behind the log side of the house. This siding was historically called weatherboarding. Unlike clapboards, which were generally split, or riven, from sections of cross-sawn logs, weatherboards were sawn lengthwise out of long planks and then planed smooth on their outside surfaces. The weatherboards that survived on the Stone House have a decorative bead planed on the bottom edge of each board. (See image below.)

So how do we know that this siding dates to the restoration period of 1830? The nails. The majority of the nails that held these boards on the exterior wall of the log side of the house were hand forged. In other words, they were made by hand. These hand-forged nails date to around 1800 and before. (See image below.) After 1800 they were being replaced on the market by nails with a machine-cut shank and a hand-forged head. Those nails that were partly made by a machine operation were soon replaced around 1820 by nails that were manufactured completely by machine. A few other nails that were found holding the weatherboards were all machine made and were clearly from later campaigns of repair prior to the time when the shed addition was added in 1867. At that time these weatherboards were covered up and enclosed under the roof of that shed addition.

These weatherboards were originally whitewashed. (See image below.) Unlike historical paints, whitewash is a solution of water and lime (slaked lime or calcium hydroxide) as well as chalk dust (calcium carbonate) that was brushed on surfaces. While paint will eventually chip and flake off, whitewash simply dissolves and weathers away. Surface preparation for a new coat of whitewash is minimal compared to the preparation required for a new coat of paint. Often whitewash can be applied directly on a relatively clean, dry surface without any scraping, sanding or priming as is typically needed for a new coat of paint.

Because of the way whitewash dissolves as it is exposed to the weather, we also discovered evidence of a rear porch with a gabled roof that once existed over the back door of the log side of the structure. The “ghost” of that missing porch’s roof apex is in the surviving whitewash on these weatherboards. (See image below.) We are very happy that the workers who built the shed addition behind the log side did not remove these weatherboards.

Filed Under: Stone House Restoration Project Progress Updates

Stone House Restoration Project Progress Updates

  • Completion of the Gutters and Other Progress
  • Painting of the Soffit and Crown
  • Painting Preparations for the Crown Molding

Upcoming Events

What We Do

With the town of Stephens City as its focus, the Foundation seeks to interest and engage residents, visitors, scholars and students in the events, lifeways and material culture of the region. We also strive to promote the preservation of the buildings, artifacts and landscapes that are associated with the history of the town of Stephens City.

Current Hours of Operation

For current hours of operation please click here.

History Center Location

PO Box 143 (USPS Mail)
5408 Main Street (FedEx/UPS Deliveries)
Stephens City, VA 22655-0143

Phone: (540) 869-1700
E-mail: info@newtownhistorycenter.org

More Information

Copyright © 2025 Newtown History Center