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The Wood Beneath Your Feet:
The State Museum building, originally a textile mill erected between 1893 and 1896, is an outstanding example of late-19th-century timber construction.
The floor consists of 5-inch-thick pine plants covered by a 1-inch-thick layer of maple boards. Note how the planks are joined by a wooden strip, or spline, inserted into matching grooves cut down the side edge of each plank.
The floor rests atop large pine beams, 12 inches wide and 16 inches thick, placed ten feet apart and supported by pine columns 14 feet high. The pine beams and subflooring, probably cut from old-growth longleaf pines, were supplied by the Alderman Lumber Company of Alcolu, South Carolina. The maple came from Illinois. |