Isn't it great that the world has come so far in 2009 that a black American president will be soon sworn-in. To think a black timber framer would have been a rarity just 150-odd years ago... George Washington would no doubt approve of our choice for the 44th president.

The info on the Mt. Vernon web page is a great example of the willful dissemination of "white, European-based trades" to the black population. I also enjoyed hearing about the bridge builder Horace King.

I've contacted folks at the church for more specifics on just how much mastery the blacks who built this building had regarding timberframing, or if they were only "instructed" by white carpenters. There's a good chance an answer won't be possible.

I'm still wondering about "negro" members of the guilds of the day, whether they were welcome to join in the northern states. No doubt the South would have been "whites-only."