Prince Albert in a Can
A catalogue of our findings from under the barn, a quick investigation into large boulders holding up posts, and some quality prohibition musing.
The barn decades ago.
The barn today.
The back (north side) of the barn, with Sugar the llama peeking out of the stalled-area on the ground floor.
Here you can see the ramp sloping up to the (south facing) main floor of the barn. Under the main floor is the basement area. This image is taken facing west.
More like a crawlspace, this eastern-most area beneath the barn is not tall enough to stand, but perhaps was used for root vegetable storage. In this image you can see a large rock and cement blocks being used as intermediates between posts and the earth floor to prevent post rot. We think these large blocks are known as fieldstones because of comparison with similarly designed barn foundations in the region from the same era. Apparently, fieldstones would have been commonly used when the first barn was constructed at this location in the latter half of the 19th century. In 1906-1909 when this barn was under construction, Portland Cement (no relation to Portland, OR) had just been introduced as a preferable and available resource.
Another boulder supporting a post under the barn.
Beams supporting the first floor of the barn. The chiseled markings show that they were hand hewn.
Burlap feed bags covering a wall in the barn basement.
An old boot.
A bottle opener hanging from a nail.
Things found under the barn.
Our very own Prince Albert tobacco tin, found in a box behind a post in the barn.
What is it? Images below.
Links which we referenced for this episode:
Do You Have Prince Albert in a Can?: A Chronology of Pocket Tobacco Tins (Dating Guide)