Development of a White Oak Chronology Using Live Trees and a Post-Civil War Cabin in South-Central Virginia

Abstract

A 280-year old white oak chronology was developed for south-central Virginia to verify the timber harvesting and construction dates of a cabin located on the Reynolds Homestead Research Center. A plaque on the cabin stated that the logs were harvested in 1814. However, the outer rings of the logs dated to 1875 and 1876. From the land-use history of the area, the cabin was most likely constructed to house tenant farmers after the Civil War. Most of the periods of below average growth identified in the 280-year chronology were related to drought events. Correlations between the radial growth of the white oak with temperature and precipitation data from a local weather station were examined. Precipitation had more influence on radial growth than temperature, and significant correlations (p = 0.05) existed between radial growth and precipitation from the previous September, the current April, and the current June.