Snip
From: John Pesut

16" is very convenient when 24" is your "other standard":

16x3=48
24x2=48

Tends to work out amazingly well when using 4'x8' sheets of drywall, 
sheathing etc.
Unsnip
 

My house in Union City was built in 1891 from wood cut at the Union City water
powered sawmill. The house has full sized 2x4’s. Not planed to size just sawn.
The outside of the house is covered with 1” oak planks with clapboard over the
top. The wall, ceiling, and floor joists are on 16” centers. The first year we
lived there a storm came through and knocked down a silver maple that was 5’
thick at the base. The tree hit the ground next to the house just outside our
bedroom window. We both slept through the storm and didn’t know the tree was
down until we went outside.
The big barn is 30 feet to the peak and built in a C shape. With the sawmill in
town the barn was built with dimensional lumber instead of post and beam like a
lot of barns in the area. The barn studs are full sized 2x6 on 24” centers and
run the height of the wall on the ends for the full 30’. The roof is at a 30 deg
pitch and covers 60’ long with a span of 25 feet. Even with the heaviest snows I
never had a problem with the barn roof during the 20 years I lived there.
The hog barn that I converted into my workshop was full sized 2x4’s on 16”
centers.
Long way around the barn to get to my point but the 16” centers must have
predated plywood by at least a year or two.
16” centers works out well for door and window widths too.  30” window or door?
Just cut out the center stud and put a header in. 24” centers and you have to
stub in a stud under one end of the header. Of course you could install 48”
doors and windows instead.

Dave N. 
aka Old Sneelock