Corn Crib

Fragment of Corn Crib
Royalton, Vermont, ca. 1780
Black ash
Gift of Miss Mary Johnson 

“Black ash. From a corn crib set on fire by the Indians at the burning of Royalton, Vermont Oct. 16th, 1780, being too wet to burn is still standing in good condition on the Elisha Rix farm Feb. 16, 1903.” 

When Mary Johnson donated this fragment of a corn crib to Historic New England in 1920, she called it a “relic,” believing its association with the infamous Royalton Raid of 1780 made it valuable to a museum collection. The neatly squared angles on this block of wood imply the original corn crib was torn down and divided up for interested parties.