VLVL2(3): A Carpenter Gothic Outhouse

[Dave Monroe]

   "What the federal computers this morning had not
brought to Hector's attention was the the alleys today
were scheduled for junior regional semifinals.  Kids
were in town from all over the northern counties to
compete on these intricately mortsied masterpiece
alleys, dating back to the high tide of the logging
business in these parts, when the big houses framed
all in redwood had gone up and legendary carpenters
had appeared descending from rain-slick stagecoaches,
geniuses with wood who could build you anything from a
bowling alley to a Carpenter Gothic outhouse." (VL,
Ch. 3, p. 26)


"intricately mortised masterpece alleys"

Main Entry: mortise
Variant(s): also mortice
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): mor·tised also mor·ticed;
mor·tis·ing also mor·tic·ing
Date: 15th century
1 : to join or fasten securely; specifically : to join
or fasten by a tenon and mortise
2 : to cut or make a mortise in

Main Entry: mor·tise 
Variant(s): also mor·tice  /'mor-t&s/
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English mortays, from Middle French
mortaise
Date: 15th century
: a hole, groove, or slot into or through which some
other part of an arrangement of parts fits or passes;
especially : a cavity cut into a piece of material (as
timber) to receive a tenon -- see DOVETAIL
illustration 

http://m-w.com/mw/art/dovetail.htm

http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary


"the high tide of the logging business in these parts"

The purpose of the Northern Counties Logging
Interpretive Association is to create awareness and
appreciation for the impact of timber, logging and
railroads on the settlement and development of
Humboldt County. The mission of the NCLIA is to create
a logging and timber heritage museum, coupled with an
operating steam-powered tourist railroad in Humboldt
County, to impress on visitors and residents alike the
tremendous role the timber industry has played --- and
continues to play --- in the settlement and
development of California and the West.

http://www.visithumboldt.com/loggingmuseum/index.html

The conflicts we are currently experiencing regarding
the management of coast redwoods are not new to our
generation. The conflicts are as old as the arrival of
the first European settlers. These first settlers
experienced awe and intimidation upon encountering
these Giants. The trees inspired both reverence and
fear in the hearts of these pioneers. The dark, damp
forests of the coast redwood offered little grazing,
farming, or hunting opportunities to these settlers
and their families. The indigenous peoples living in
and among these forests also stimulated fear to the
settlers, as their culture was as foreign to them as
this new terrain and towering trees. The immediate
goals of the early settlers included taming the
forests and controlling the natives in order to regain
a sense of familiarity and "home."

The first conflicts regarding the management of coast
redwoods were established with the harvesting of trees
for income, the conversion of the redwood forests to
grazing and farming lands, and the domination of the
Native American populations encountered in achieving
these objectives. The giant trees represented
immediate income opportunities for the settlers, if
they could be harvested and shipped to new and booming
towns, such as San Francisco. Several social,
political, and economic factors throughout the 1800s
and 1900s contributed to the growing conflicts. Some
of the most important factors included: The Homestead
Act (which encouraged the harvesting and conversion
process to increase settlement in the West); the Ad
Valorem Property taxes (which discouraged long-term
management and growth of trees by encouraging
landowners to cut up to 70 percent of the standing
timber in order to remove the remaining timber from
the tax rolls); the development of the State and
Federal Redwood Park systems and the history and
development of the Forest Practice Regulations in
California. 

The logging of the coast redwood forests began in the
late 1800s, beginning with oxen and progressing to
steam (donkey) engines by the 1930s, in much the same
pattern as the other forests of the Pacific Northwest.
This method of harvesting resulted in the clear
cutting of whole drainages and generally progressed
from the coast up through the inland watersheds. The
coastal rivers and streams were utilized as
transportation corridors for the logs. The
environmental damage resulting from this initial
logging remains with us today. Many of the current
timber harvesting plans must address the cumulative
impacts of the past harvesting practices and implement
mitigation measures to offset the potential
environmental hazards posed by the combination of past
and present management practices.

http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/~jleblanc/WWW/Redwood/rdwd-The-3.html

And see as well ...

http://www.sempervirens.org/amzrdwds.htm

http://www.humboldt.edu/~norcal/links.html

http://www.calacademy.org/research/library/biodiv/biblio/redwood.htm

"I wanna go back north, to Humboldt County" (GR, Pt.
IV, p. 740)

http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/pynchon_music_blowtorch.html


"a Carpenter Gothic outhouse"

A form of Gothic Revival, the Carpenter Gothic style
in America grew out of a need for quickly built houses
-- and the desire for fanciful details.  The new
balloon framing technique and the invention of steam
powered scroll saws, which allowed for the mass
production of intricate mouldings, led to a
proliferation of pattern books devoted to "country
cottages" both here and in England.

These homes weren't intended to be castles or
cathedrals, but as English architect John White wrote
in his Rural Architecture: Ornamental Cottages and
Villas in 1845, "of such a character as to accommodate
the various ranks of society, the price being so
moderate as to bring it within the reach of the
humblest mechanic." 

In England, the style reflected a resurgence in
interest on the Gothic stone structures of the Middle
Ages, and Gothic Revival homes and churches were often
constructed of brick and stone. In the United States,
Yankee ingenuity and an abundance of fine lumber led
to the interpretation of details in wood, and the
style became known as Carpenter Gothic.

Identifying features of the Carpenter Gothic style
include steeply pitched roofs and gables, gingerbread
ornamentation, fancy scroll work, barge boards, carved
porch railings,  and strong vertical design elements,
such as board and batten siding.  Window trim
typically replicated the masonry trim of English
Gothic cathedrals on these otherwise simple country
cottages. Earlier Gothic cottages were square and
symmetrical, while later homes often had asymmetrical
floor plans.

http://www.oldhouseweb.com/stories/Detailed/10486.shtml

Gaddis, William.  Carpenter's Gothic.
   New York: Viking, 1985.

http://www.williamgaddis.org/gothic/

http://www.penguinputnam.com/static/rguides/us/carpenters_gothic.html

http://www.semcoop.com/detail/0141182229

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