As part of the Stonington Public Library’s “Seaside Series,” Nevan Carling will present a demonstration of traditional door joining using historical tools and techniques on Wednesday, July 2 from 12-1 PM in Small Cove Park in Stonington.
How did one build a door from raw materials before power tools? Early white settlers in the region, such as Rev. Jonathan Fisher of Blue Hill, used hand tools to convert the natural materials around them into their homes. Nevan will demonstrate the techniques used back in the 18th and 19th centuries, which are still alive in traditional building today.
Nevan Carling is a board member at the Jonathan Fisher House in Blue Hill, as well as a preservation timber framer specializing in the research and repair of historic buildings. His interests are in the social roles that the built environment played in creating and surrounding identities in the past, with a special focus in the 17th and 18th centuries. Nevan is a recent graduate of the University of York in the United Kingdom with a degree in Archaeology and Heritage Management and is pursuing his MSc degree in Timber Building Conservation at the Weald and Downland Living History Museum in Chichester, England.
Stonington Public Library’s Seaside Series runs each Wednesday from 12-1 pm in July and August. Different presenters from our community share their talents as artists, poets, journalists, novelists, and more! Events are held in Small Cove Park, 6 Atlantic Avenue, Stonington (behind Camden National Bank), or at the Stonington Public Library in the event of rain. We’ll bring the shade and chairs, you bring a curious mind.
The Fisher House, located at 44 Mines Road in Blue Hill, is a plank-on-frame home built in 1814 by Rev. Jonathan Fisher, Blue Hill's first settled minister. Today the house is preserved as a museum, and is open for tours Wednesday-Saturday from 1-4 PM with no appointment needed, through the summer. Fisher, a polymath with many talents, designed and built much of the house himself, as well as the tools used to create it and the furnishings housed within. He was also a talented artist, writer, linguist, theologian, and scientist. Learn more about Jonathan Fisher and the Fisher House on their website.