American Housing Styles
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Links From The Past
Aaron Mang, Greensburg High School, 1000 E. Central, Greensburg, IN 47240 ([email protected]
Native American Homes
Influences– Environment– Culture
Characteristics– Simple structures, dirt
floors– No windows or chimneys– Dark and crowded– Little furniture– Possessions stored on
shelves hung from walls
Aaron Mang, Greensburg High School, 1000 E. Central, Greensburg, IN 47240 ([email protected]
Native American Homes
Wigwam Tepee
Hunting/gathering– Easily constructed
– Easily carried
Aaron Mang, Greensburg High School, 1000 E. Central, Greensburg, IN 47240 ([email protected]
Native American Homes
Longhouse – Iroquois
Pueblos– Spanish for villages– Built on top of each other
into cliffs and caves– Adobe: sun-dried clay bricks
Permanent homes
Aaron Mang, Greensburg High School, 1000 E. Central, Greensburg, IN 47240 ([email protected]
The First Colonists
No shelter upon landing Had few tools and
materials Followed native people
examples Most were temporary
– Huts of bark and branches– Shed like roofed house
built into the side of a hill
Aaron Mang, Greensburg High School, 1000 E. Central, Greensburg, IN 47240 ([email protected]
Early American Period: 1640-1720
Permanent homes patterned after ones left behind
Modifications made to suit weather conditions/terrain
More people meant workforce became more specialized
Local material used– Wood in New England– Local stone– Brick making clay
Aaron Mang, Greensburg High School, 1000 E. Central, Greensburg, IN 47240 ([email protected]
English Settlements
Half-timbered houses– Wood frame of the house formed part of outside wall– Spaces between beams filled in with brick or plaster– Thatch roofs (bundles of reeds or straw)– Huge chimney served one or more fireplaces– Windows small: reduced heat loss and glass was expensive
Aaron Mang, Greensburg High School, 1000 E. Central, Greensburg, IN 47240 ([email protected]
English Settlements
Simple rectangular design Central chimney Pitched roof (gabled roof) Ell-extension built at right
angles to the length of structure added as families grew
Little usable space on second floor– Dormer windows added– Allowed for interior space for full-
sized rooms
Northeastern Colonies: Cape Cod Houses
Aaron Mang, Greensburg High School, 1000 E. Central, Greensburg, IN 47240 ([email protected]
Salt-box
Began as a two-story pitched roof house
Need for extra space-added additional set of rooms along the back
Roof line down to cover the addition
Long slope similar to sloping cover on the wooden saltboxes used in colonial kitchens
Aaron Mang, Greensburg High School, 1000 E. Central, Greensburg, IN 47240 ([email protected]
Garrison House
Second story that overhangs the first story
First used on forts or garrisons to prevent attackers from scaling the walls
Aaron Mang, Greensburg High School, 1000 E. Central, Greensburg, IN 47240 ([email protected]
German Settlements
German– Mostly settled in
Southeastern PA– Large, durable houses of
wood and quarry stone– Entry into first-floor
kitchen– Some had an
abbreviated roof or “hood” between 1st and 2nd stories
Aaron Mang, Greensburg High School, 1000 E. Central, Greensburg, IN 47240 ([email protected]
Dutch Settlements
Dutch– First settlements in New
Amsterdam (NY)– Stone and brick/ houses
large by colonial standards
– Known for decorative brickwork and intricate stepped gables
– Distinctive roof: Gambrel– Metal gutters, small windows
with sliding shutters– Dutch door-door divided in
half horizontally
Aaron Mang, Greensburg High School, 1000 E. Central, Greensburg, IN 47240 ([email protected]
Spanish Settlements
Florida and southwest– Early homes built from
coquina, a soft porous limestone composed of shell & coral
– Rectangular with balconies that faced the street
– Kitchens often separate– Interior simple and
whitewashed plaster walls, beamed ceilings, earthen floors
– Tile on roof
Aaron Mang, Greensburg High School, 1000 E. Central, Greensburg, IN 47240 ([email protected]
Spanish Settlements
Southwest– Adobe walls, flat roofs,
rough-hewn beams projecting through the outside
– Walls and deep-set windows
California– Covered with adobe, brick, or
stucco Stucco: plaster material made
with cement, sand, lime Rounded archways and
windows Red tile roofs
Aaron Mang, Greensburg High School, 1000 E. Central, Greensburg, IN 47240 ([email protected]
Swedish Settlements
American log cabin has Swedish origins
Primitive, small building Sometimes divided into 2
rooms with an attic above Originally roof was of bark or
thatch Wood shingles used later Modified from one-room to
two-rooms connected with breezeway
– Known as a dog-trot
Aaron Mang, Greensburg High School, 1000 E. Central, Greensburg, IN 47240 ([email protected]
Swedish Settlements
Dog-trot log cabins
Aaron Mang, Greensburg High School, 1000 E. Central, Greensburg, IN 47240 ([email protected]
French Settlements
St. Lawrence River– Stone or wood with high,
steep roofs common in French country
– Small closed windows with heavy wooden shutters
Closed to protect the occupants from cold weather
Mississippi Valley– Adaptations made for hot
and humid weather Porch added covered
by a broad roof extending around the house
Improved air circulation Usually white Rooms had many doors
and windows for air flow
Aaron Mang, Greensburg High School, 1000 E. Central, Greensburg, IN 47240 ([email protected]
French Settlements
Pictures
Aaron Mang, Greensburg High School, 1000 E. Central, Greensburg, IN 47240 ([email protected]