Example 1777 World Events

King’s Pin

TOC

King’s Pine Boards

Starting in 1711, the King’s Mark or “Broad Arrow” branded the widest, tallest old-growth Eastern White Pines in the American Colonies as property of the King of England. Colonists who violated this rule would be fined £100 (about $180,000 today). Unlike hardwood, White Pine can stand for years without cracking. It is soft, easy to cut, straight, and contains few knots. By 1691 the Crown had claimed almost all White Pines more than 24-inches in diameter, and marked them using the King’s Broad Arrow. They later reduced the diameter to 12 inches. The Colonists of the area were outraged. Pine was valuable for boards necessary in building their own homes. They routinely poached the pines. In 1772, a riot in Weare, New Hampshire occurred over the punishment of six sawmill owners caught milling trunks marked by the King’s Arrow. The incident, called the “Pine Tree Riot” has been cited as a precursor to the Boston Tea Party. Indeed, the first flag of the American Revolutionaries carried the image of a White Pine in the upper left-hand corner.