Apparently "Early American" includes the 1950s or 60s at least.
It's kind of neat but I agree. It does look like a high school shop project. The glued up layers practically scream it. It's certainly not a professional piece but overall it's pretty nice. I hope they got a good grade.
I always wonder the story about hand made items like that that end up being sold or in a thrift store. Kind of like the vintage quilts I see on Shopgoodwill. At what point did the owners stop caring about them?
Rodney