WYE MILLS, Md.- A new study has uncovered the age of one of Delmarva's oldest historical sites. A recently released a study by the Oxford Tree-Ring laboratory that dates the historic mill structure to the winter of 1753-1754.
The laboratory used a standard method in the historic preservation movement of dating wooden buildings
Historian Barry Kessler says this study pinpoints the year that most of the structural timbers in the mill were harvested.
He says, "It's a fairly standard method in the historic preservation movement of dating buildings wooden buildings, and scientists are able to take samples of the timbers, the large structural members that hold up the building, and then they derive a mess of data which he could then compare with existing tree ring sequences."
Thanks to this technology, Delmarva now has a better idea on exactly how old the mill actually is. Old Wye Mill will re-open after a year of closure due to the pandemic on May 1.