Houses in Colonial America

by Tamera Lynn Kraft

Although most people in colonial America lived in small one room houses or log cabins, more prosperous land owners would have nicer homes. Here's a list of the styles of homes people built in colonial America.

Wattle and Daub homes were built in Jamestown when the English settled there. When the Pilgrims came to America, they also opted for wattle and daub designs. These houses had wood frames and were filled in with sticks and daub made from clay, mud, or grass. They generally had thatched roofs, wood floors, and one room.

Later, land owners built plantation style homes with more than one room. These houses were French Colonial style. They had two stories, multiple rooms and fireplaces, and glass windows. Creole homes were a smaller version of this style. They had French doors and wrap around mantels and were made with heavy wood timbers and had columns to support the roofs.

Georgian Colonial homes were the houses we think of when someone mentions a Southern colonial. In the 1720s, these houses became popular all over the colonies. These homes had large square rooms with a center hall where the stairs were located and were known for pedestaled doors, porticoes, and a symmetrical floor plans. The style originated in England and was adapted according to the resources available in the colonies.

Architect Robert Adam came up with the federalist style which became a mainstay shortly before the Revolutionary War and for the early years of our nation's history. The style was inspired by classic Roman architecture, but it used some of the style features in Georgian homes. Because of the patriotic fervour of the time it was coined "federal" although it was also called Adam's style. The main colors were yellow, white, and red. The floor plan was basically a box with symmetrical rooms, two or more deep. The front door had pilasters or columns on either side. The windows had small panes, lined horizontally and vertically in groups of seven, five or three.

The log cabin is usually the home you think of when talking about American architecture. This style home was built when people moved into wilderness areas because they didn't have the resources to mill the wood. Instead they would cut down the trees and use the unmilled logs as their building materials. These homes were rustic 12 by 16 foot square homes with dirt floors. Windows were cut into the walls and covered with wood or animal skins. Log cabins were usually meant to be temporary homes until the family could arrange for something nicer to be built. 

Tamera Lynn Kraft has always loved adventures. She loves to write historical fiction set in the United States because there are so many stories in American history. There are strong elements of faith, romance, suspense and adventure in her stories. She has received 2^nd place in the NOCW contest, 3^rd place TARA writer’s contest, and is a finalist in the Frasier Writing Contest and has other novellas in print. She’s been married for 38 years to the love of her life, Rick, and has two married adult children and two grandchildren. Tamera has two novellas in print: A Christmas Promise and Resurrection of Hope. Her first full length novel, Alice’s Notions, was released this month.

A Tour of Benefit Street by Lisa Norato

Benefit Street, Providence, Rhode Island

Benefit Street on the east side of Providence, Rhode Island, is known as the “Mile of History” for the 1.2 miles of historic homes and buildings that line its sidewalks.  Considered an outdoor museum, Benefit Street is a popular tourist attraction, and today I’d like to take you on a virtual tour.  So lace up your sneakers because those cobblestone sidewalks can get a bit unsteady.

"A Benefit for All"

We will be heading north, focusing on early American architecture, although there are many Victorian era homes as well.

Providence was founded by Roger Williams in the early 1600s, when he was expelled from Massachusetts for his religious views.  Almost 150 years later, the city had risen from a religious settlement cut out of the wilderness to a thriving mercantile center, with many making their fortunes trading rum, molasses and even slaves.  These wealthy merchants needed a place to build that reflected their affluent status.  In the 1780s, the hilly area overlooking the Providence River was deemed a prime residential spot for its lofty location above the City.  What was originally called Back Street was widened and the street renamed Benefit because it was deemed to be "a benefit for all."

 

Nightingale-Brown House c.1792

One of the most notable homes of the period is the Nightingale-Brown House built by a wealthy merchant in 1792.  At 19,000 square feet, it is one of the largest 18th century wood frame houses still standing in North America.  I especially love the captain’s walk on the rooftop which would have overlooked the merchant ships sailing into the Providence River.

Stephen Hopkins House c. 1707

This is the Stephen Hopkins house, built in 1707 and occupied by the merchant and ship builder from 1743 to 1785.  The house plaque reveals a bit more about the Colonial man and reads, “Ten times Governor of Rhode Island. Chief Justice of the Superior Court. Chancellor of Brown University. Member of the Colonial Congress. Signer of the Declaration of Independence.” General George Washington was a guest at the house on April 6, 1776.

What makes Benefit Street so special is that its historic character continues throughout the entire length of over one mile, not just in one or two buildings spaced here and there.  The homes have front doors that open right onto the sidewalk as was fashionable at the time, and in strolling down the street it is easy to imagine yourself back in time, as life was 150 years ago.

Isaac Bowen, Jr. House

Among the mansions and wealthy residences along Benefit Street are more modest dwellings in the Federal architecture style.  Though this Federal home doesn’t appear very modest to me.  The plaque by the door indicates that this was the home of Isaac Bowen, Jr. 1770-1804.

Thanks to the Providence Preservation Society, even simple structures bear plaques which indicate when they were built and who originally owned the house, like the home of Daniel Smith.  This house was originally built in 1750 in another area of Providence, but was moved by preservationists to Benefit Street in 1982.

Daniel Smith House c.1750

This was just a sampling of the architecture the street has to offer.  I hope you enjoyed our little stroll and learning about the history of Providence’s Benefit Street.  I wanted to share it with you, because I always enjoy walking along the street, envisioning what it would have been like living in the Colonial era.

Lisa Norato is the multi-published author of Prize of My Heart, an inspirational, seafaring historical from Bethany House, set during the Federal era. A life-long New Englander, Lisa lives in a historic village with homes and churches dating as far back as the eighteenth century