Dining Room: Faux Wood Painting
Endangered Oak Trees: Then vs. Now
Faux wood graining is a method to paint one type of wood, usually a less expensive variety, to look like another. Oak is a valuable hardwood and Victorian homeowners would hire painters to paint faux oak on their mantels, doors, and wood trim to elevate their space. This feature in the Wylie House Museum brings to mind the curren threats to oak trees, which are a keystone species, meaning they hold an ecosystem together. Their loss is particularly through disease or overharvesting is particularly detrimental, often causing a cascade of challenges to the other living species they help sustain.
Why was faux wood painting popular in the Victorian Era?
There are a few reasons why they may have done this in the Victorian Era; one is that furniture made with expensive wood took longer to produce and was less readily available to the average family. Another reason for doing so was to emulate oak wood specifically; oak began to dwindle in population because it was such a coveted, durable wood for constructing furniture. When oak trees began their population decline, it was difficult to reverse because acorns do not preserve in seed banks and hardwood trees like oak and walnut mature slower than other trees. This population decline occurred around the turn of the century; efforts to preserve the oak were led by Teddy Roosevelt when he was president. Faux painting of woods like elm, hickory, and ash to look like oak actually aided in the conservation of the species because these other types of wood were made to look like oak but cost much less.
What are some of the current threats to oak trees?
Agriculture, urban development, climate change, human disturbance, plant diseases, and invasive species are some of the main enemies of the oak tree. Oak wilt is an invasive fungus (Bretziella fagacearum) that threatens oak trees in the U.S. by preventing water and nutrients from flowing throughout the tree. Oak wilt can be spread quite easily even if infected wood is merely left in an area with healthy oak trees. There are also sap beetles that can spread oak wilt from tree to tree via infected sap. Oak trees can also spread oak wilt via root systems; root rot is another disease that plagues their roots and can kill oak trees. In addition, oaks are faced with certain beetles boring into their trunks like the two-lined chestnut borer beetle. Trees can also develop oak leaf blisters which aren't fatal but can weaken the oak tree and leave it more susceptible to other threats.
What can I do to help?
Resources from National Parks Service
More info about oak wilt and how to prevent/stop it
Resources from Purdue Plant and Pest Diagnostic Laboratory
Additional information about faux wood painting:
How has the landscape of Bloomington changed in the last 200 years?
- As early as 1799, Indiana had put a law and an $8 fine in place to prevent clearing trees on another person's property.
- After Indiana gained statehood in 1816 a law was passed by Indiana's legislature adding further penalties for "unsanctioned timber harvesting".
- Indiana started clearing land to develop roadways in 1832.
- Cleared land became more valuable than natural land in the 1850s.
- A tax incentive related to forestry wasn't introduced until 1874 when soil erosion and timber depletion became problems.
- By 1880, Indiana's forested land was only 4.3 million acres.
- By 1900, it shrunk even more to 1.5 million acres.
- Organic Administration Act of 1897 helped establish National Forests.
- In 1929, the land was purchased to establish the Morgan-Monroe State Forest.
Would the Wylie family have had something like this during their time in the house?
Maybe! The Wylie House changed a lot over the years, but we do have family accounts of how they remembered the house looking when they would visit. All of the fireplaces were rebuilt during the 1960s construction; the hearth is constructed out of stone tiles that were once a part of Redick Wylie's property on South Walnut Street. The Hershey family that owned the house after the Wylie family made a lot of changes to the interior; Mrs. Hershey covered most of the fireplaces, removed their "ornate poplar mantels" and gave them all all away. It is unclear if these mantels were identical but most likely the Wylie family had many different styles of mantel. Anton and Marie Boisen, grandchildren of Theophilus and Rebecca Wylie, described the mantels as "simple, not ornate", and went on to say Andrew Wylie had good taste. They also remembered that the mantels were not highly decorated as was typical at that time and they were painted black during their time in the house. The mantel in the guest room is the only one confirmed to be original to the house by those who did the 1960s renovations.