Cleaned a 200-year-old chimney in Charleston and found a brick stash from 1820

Was doing a routine sweep at an old colonial house downtown and the camera showed something weird in the flue. Pulled out a loose brick with "1820" carved into it and a little hollow spot behind it with three old clay pipes and a handful of coins. Homeowner said the original owner was a mason. I've never seen anything like that before. Anyone else find random stuff hidden in old chimneys?

2 comments

2 Comments

james_butler7d ago

Those old clay pipes are called churchwardens, not just any old smoking pipes. Pretty common find in colonial spots but the coins are the real story here. You'd want to check if any of them are Carolina or Georgia colonial coppers, those are worth a lot more than the usual British halfpennies. Also that brick stash trick was a known mason thing back then, they'd hide supplies for the next repairman since they didnt have Home Depot. The real mistake is thinking the homeowner's ancestor was the mason who hid them. Could have been any tradesman who worked on the place over a hundred year span, not just the original owner.

the_daniel7d ago

Guess I've been calling my own backyard finds "funny looking straws" this whole time. Classic me, the guy who thinks a churchwarden pipe is just a fancy bendy stick.

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