On Sun, 19 Mar 2017 06:40:44 -0500, philo wrote:

Most of the houses in my neighborhood were built in the late 19th or
early 20th century.


Recently someone totally rebuilt a house near here, they stripped it
down to the 2 x 4's and rebuilt...they even put in a new foundation.

At first I wondered why they did not raze it entirely until I realized
the old style 2 x 4's are superior to the ones used today.

They actually measure 2" x 4" and use better wood that today's soft pine.

My question is: what kind of wood was actually used.

It's denser than soft pine but not actual hardwood, though it is
sometimes referred to as such.
Many were built using "local lumber".Others used Douglas Fir or old
growth white pine, or even old growth spruce.
The "local lumber" could be anything from jack pine to white cedar to
elm, maple, chestnut ash, or Gumwood.. Some of the wood used for
framing back then would be good for high end trim today!!
My shed is all "mixed hardwood", some of it 2 1/2 X 4 - originally
used as pallets for sheet metal