DAY, Fla. — Day Heritage Center is now home to a turpentine tapping display.

The uses for turpentine go all the way back to the Bible, according to Bubba Greene.

Greene said in Genesis, God instructed Noah to protect the Ark from leakage by applying a sealant, called pitch.

Pitch is the black concentrated gum left behind after distilling the resin that exudes from the cells and internal canals of a variety of tree species.

Turpentine is created from the resin or crude gum extracted from tapped pine trees.

Pine trees are tapped by removing the bark and hacking a V-shape into the wood until the cambium is reached.

Two tin pieces are placed below the mark to allow the resin to drain into a tin bucket.

According to Greene, new hack streaks will be cut higher on the tree every couple of weeks to stimulate the flow of resin.

Greene said his father used to spray acid on the marks to keep the tree irritated and produce more resin.

During the height of the industry, when the cup is full of gum, the gum was dipped out and placed into a dip bucket, then a turpentine barrel. When a turpentine barrel was full, the barrel was hauled to a turpentine still, where in the cooking process it would separate the turpentine from the resin.

The turpentine tapping display took roughly an hour to set up Jan. 30, but when the industry was thriving, Marvin Buchanan of the Day Heritage Center said men could tap 1,800 to 3,000 trees in one day.

“There were 11 stores, a saw mill, a grits mill, a cotton gin, two doctors and a pharmacy in the town of Day and it was all centered around the turpentine industry,” said Buchanan.

He added the workers resided in a shanty town while working in the turpentine industry.

Other than a sealant for Noah’s Ark, turpentine has been uses for sealing cracks in naval ships, water proofing canvas and ship sails, disinfectants and medicines.

Buchanan said when he was a child, his mother would give him a spoonful of sugar with a few drops of turpentine to treat a cough.

Greene said his family used it to treat cuts and scrapes.

The Day Heritage Center is currently seeking donations of tools for their turpentine display. Donations can be given to the museum or loaned for a certain time limit if desired.

The center does not currently have regular hours but appointments to visit can be made.

Call Elouise Green at 386-249-3141 or Marvin Buchanan at 386-294-1211.

The Day Heritage Center is located on Day Avenue, off of County Road 53.