Possible Tenter Hook

A possible tenter hook, which would have been used to stretch skins or cloth on a tenter (stretching rack). It is suspected that Benjamin Lothrop, who was married to Joseph Howland’s daughter and who purchased the Joseph Howland homesite from Joseph’s son James in 1735, processed skins at the site. Lothrop was a hatter by trade and, based on the faunal remains and some leather working tools found at the site, someone was processing skins.