American Housing Styles
Housing
3rd and 4th Block
Selma High School
Links From The Past
Aaron Mang, Greensburg High School, 1000 E. Central, Greensburg, IN 47240 (psmang@msn.com
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 (psmang@msn.com
Native American Homes

Hunting/gathering
–
–
Wigwam
Easily constructed
Easily carried
Tepee
Aaron Mang, Greensburg High School, 1000 E. Central, Greensburg, IN 47240 (psmang@msn.com
Native American Homes


Longhouse
–
Iroquois
Permanent homes

Pueblos
–
Spanish for villages
Built on top of each other
into cliffs and caves
–
Adobe: sun-dried clay bricks
–
Aaron Mang, Greensburg High School, 1000 E. Central, Greensburg, IN 47240 (psmang@msn.com
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 (psmang@msn.com
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 (psmang@msn.com
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 (psmang@msn.com
English Settlements

Northeastern Colonies: Cape Cod Houses

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 fullsized rooms
Aaron Mang, Greensburg High School, 1000 E. Central, Greensburg, IN 47240 (psmang@msn.com
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 (psmang@msn.com
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 (psmang@msn.com
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 (psmang@msn.com
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 (psmang@msn.com
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 (psmang@msn.com
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 (psmang@msn.com
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 (psmang@msn.com
Swedish Settlements
Dog-trot log cabins
Aaron Mang, Greensburg High School, 1000 E. Central, Greensburg, IN 47240 (psmang@msn.com
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 (psmang@msn.com
French Settlements

Pictures
Aaron Mang, Greensburg High School, 1000 E. Central, Greensburg, IN 47240 (psmang@msn.com