Colonial Homes

New England Colonies

Southern Colonies

New England Homes

• First concern was to provide shelter– Caves dug into hillsides, ten-like structures

made of tree branches covered with cloth, or stakes driven into the ground to form palisades, roofed with rushes or branches covered with mats or mud

– Typically for the poor

Characteristics 1626-1725

• Plan

• Roofline

• Doorway

• Windows

• Materials

Coffin and Fitch Houses

• Plan– Originally one room

deep with a prominent central chimney. Often a second story overhang on front and or side with a lean to added to the rear of building

Fairbanks House

• Roofline

Steep pitch, often with many gables. Massive oblong central chimney was roofline focus.

Fairbanks and Capen Houses

• Roofline– Steep pitch, often with

many gables. Massive oblong chimney was roofline focus.

Doorway

• Doorway– Entrance on long side

of building with little concern for façade symmetry. Simple serviceable board and batten door.

Doorway

Doorway• Entrance on long side of building with little

concern for the façade symmetry. • Simple serviceable board and batten door.

Windows

• Windows– Small, few in number,

and asymmetrically placed. Framed simply, the windows were usually casement with diagonally shaped leaded panes.

Windows

• Small, few in number, and asymetrically placed.

• Framed simply, the windows were usually casement with diagonally shaped leaded panes.

Windows

Windows

• Diamond-Pane• Crown Glass

Materials

• Timber frame construction. Usually unpainted wood with narrow clapboards.

Salt Box

Materials

• Timber frame construction.

Materials

Usually unpainted wood with narrow clapboards.

Additions

Interiors

• Colonial Hearth

• See Fairbanks House interior

Early New England Colonial houses had many of these features:

• Usually located in the northeastern USA, mostly in Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and New York.

• Steep roof with side gables • Lean-to addition with saltbox roof • Narrow eaves • Large chimney at the center • Two stories • In some cases, the second story slightly protrudes over the lower

floor • Wood framed with clapboard or shingles

• Small casement windows, some with diamond-shaped panes • Little exterior ornamentation

Homework

• You are required to identify colonial home characteristics in your community. Write a paragraph explaining how the item you have chosen resembles a colonial home characteristic or identify the differences.

• Please also identify the address or location of where you found these colonial characteristics. Pictures are always welcome!