In 2010 when excavation began at the site of the Charlestown Navy Yard to build the new Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, workers discovered wood buried deep in the mud. To their amazement, large timbers of a type of wood known as live oak had been buried in a timber pond in the late 1700s to early 1800s! Because of its strength and resilience, this wood was used by navy shipbuilders to construct the USS Constitution and other tall ships of that era!
When the shipyard began making all-metal boats in the 1880s, the timber pond was covered to make room for diesel storage tanks, and all but forgotten until three years ago. The owners from Weathered Benches purchased the rights to all of the wood in the timber pond, and have been restoring the wood to create a number of different furniture pieces; they contacted us about designing and selling lamps made from this beautiful live oak.
Each Boston Live Oak Lamp base is handcrafted from individually selected reclaimed live oak and finely sanded with a linseed oil finish to compliment the antique wood.
All of these limited-edition lamps are stamped, uniquely numbered, and bear the designation, “Historic Live Oak Discovered in the Charlestown Navy Yard,” on a brass plate for authenticity.
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