Pre Revolutionary Ax Head

[Valley Ranger]

I had previously posted about this ax head. I did some additional research using Eric Sloane's "Museum of Early American Tools" and it looked like it could be pre-Revolutionary, based on one of his sketches. So I contacted the Museum of Frontier Culture in Staunton, VA to see if they might be able to assist me in dating the piece. I was contacted by the Curator of Collections for the Frontier Culture Museum who was kind enough to agree to meet me one morning last week to take a look at my ax head, which was recovered on a farm once owned by Stonewall Jackson's Chief of Staff and Chaplain, Robert Lewis Dabney. After carefully examining the ax head, I was told that the cutting blade was missing or had broken off and that it appeared the piece had also been used as a hammer; not an uncommon thing. The curator could not, with absolute 100% certainty date the tool, but said that he was relatively confident that the ax head was 18th century and most likely pre-Revolutionary--just as I had thought it might be. I was quite delighted! Finding, recovering, saving, and preserving a piece of American history is very satisfying.

 

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[birdman]

Once it is cleaned up a bit,it will display real nice.

 

[Valley Ranger]

Once it is cleaned up a bit,it will display real nice.

I already cleaned it up.

 

[DirtDigler]

An axe head, by some considered insignificant, was a very personal item to a frontiersman. He often crafted the handle himself and valued it as much as a firearm. With a good axe he could build a cabin, cut firewood and even defend himself in a tight spot. Nice to see that it was repurposed. Shows how things were seldom discarded and used as long as functional. Nice to have some provenance as well, assuming it belonged to Rev. Dabney. Good research!

 

[TerryEastTexas]

Nice. A lot of history behind that one.