A joggling or jostling board is a long, pliable board that is supported on each end by wooden stands. The board is springy and a person sitting on it can easily bounce up and down. Sources differ on the origin; its usage in the Lowcountry of

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

around Charleston in the early 19th century is however rather well-documented. Traditionally, it is painted Charleston green. The joggling board's popularity has slowly been coming back, mostly as decorations on lawns and front porches. Martha Graham bought several joggling boards from Old Charleston Joggling Board Co

on a visit to Charleston and used them as props in her danc
Maple Leaf Rag
Photos from the rehearsals show the variety of ways the board was used. The company posed with Graham on these boards for the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

Construction

The main board preferably should be between 10 and 16 feet (3 to 5 meters) long and wide enough to sit on. Traditionally the boards were made from the flexible wood of a southern yellow pine tree. The end pieces, which are often shaped similar to a rocking chair to facilitate rocking side to side, hold the main board at sitting height.

History

According to one South Carolina legend, the first joggling board was built in the early 19th century at Old Fields Plantation, which was located in the "Midlands" of South Carolina, near Edgefield in

Edgefield County Edgefield County is a county located on the western border of the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 25,657. Its county seat and largest municipality is Edgefield. The county was established on March 12, 17 ...

; it is maintained that it was constructed with reference to the design of a model shipped to the plantation owner's sister by relatives at the family estate of Gilmerton House in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, and originally developed for exercise purposes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joggling Board Benches (furniture)