When you cut a tree down, you can learn a lot about local history by examining its exposed trunk. How many rings does it have? How old is the tree? During which years did the area experience a drought?
By studying America’s early architecture, you can learn a lot about life in that time period. For instance, in the early 1900s, why did the Victorian Manse fall from favor so fast? Why did the diminutive bungalow gain ground so fast?
What ignited The Bungalow Craze?
In the late 1800s, about one in five children died before their 18th birthday. Parents were desperate to do anything to protect their children’s health. When it was discovered that “germs” were the culprit and that sanitation was the cure, people couldn’t get out of those big houses fast enough. It’s a fascinating topic, and to learn more about this one slice of American architectural history, click here.
Porches also tell a story about the social fabric in early 20th Century America.
In the mid-1800s to the early 1900s, we loved our front porches, and by design, they were intended to “woo and welcome the weary wanderer.”
Men, women and children passed many happy hours on the oversized front porch, and it was an open invitation for folks to drop by a “set a spell” (as we say in the south).
In pre-air conditioning days, the front porch also provided a welcome respite from the summer heat.
Last but not least, there were the salutary effects of fresh air. Primitive heating systems (usually fired by coal) had no filtration, and were probably partly to blame for the fact that so many children suffered from pulmonary diseases.
And there was a body of belief that fresh air was a cure for so many diseases. Being “cooped up” in an unevenly heated, often drafty old house was a recipe for disease, according to the prevailing thought of the day. In the early 1900s, a daily dose of fresh air was akin to today’s fascination with vitamins and herbal remedies. (In the 1920s, “sleeping porches” became the rage for this very reason.)
And we were a society of walkers. Most communities were full of walkers, on their daily rounds. Without modern refrigeration, excursions to the butcher, the grocer, the baker and the general store were daily events.
And if you passed by The Thornton Home on Thornrose Avenue and saw Rose sitting in her wicker swing on the front porch, it was de rigueur to walk up to (but not on) the front steps and say hello. If Rosemary was in a fittin’ mood, she’d invite you to “set down for a bit and rest a spell.”
Front porches were a significant piece of our social construct in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
When houses got smaller, so did the front porch. By the 1910s, they were significantly downsized. And by 1920, a funny thing happened on the way to the wicker swing. The porch got moved to the side of the house. We still wanted to be part of the community, but we also wanted our privacy, and some alone time with our loved ones.
And in the 1950s, the porch moved again – to the back of the house. After making the commute back home from the foundry or the mill or the Skippy Peanut Butter Plant, we wanted to relax and put our feet up and enjoy our own little oasis in the back yard, away from the madding world. If someone wanted to drop by, they’d darn well better call first, and if they just showed up at the door, we could ignore them, and remain safely ensconced (and hidden) on the back of the house.
As I said, it’s a fascinating thumbnail sketch of American society.
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My great Aunt (Addie Hoyt) lived in this classic Victorian home, which was extensively remodeled (completely rebuilt) in 1895. Note the massive front porch, replete with three hammocks hanging from the porch posts. This photo as taken about 1899 or 1900.
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Here's a close-up of those three hammocks. Very inviting!
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Front porches were very inviting - by design - and also became kind of an "outdoor den" and social center. Here is Addie (facing the camera) playing poker with an unidentified woman friend on the front porch of her home. She captioned this photo, "We have a real kitty for the kitty!"
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A contemporary view of Addie's home (2012). This photo really shows off those amazing porches. The second floor porches facing the street were sometimes known as "Parade Porches." This house has two second-floor porches. BTW, this house is now a famous Wisconsin landmark, and it's also a B&B. It's known as the Fargo Mansion Inn. Look below for a link to the site.
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In 1957, my parents moved into this house at 515 Nansemond Street (Waterview) in Portsmouth, Virginia. It was built in 1924, and you can see the open porch is now on the side of the house. By the early 1920s, porches had migrated to the side, giving the homeowner a little privacy.
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My parents loved this house, and they captured a picture that really showcases the idea of the "private oasis" and the side porch. This house was in the suburbs (of the time), and not many people were likely to be walking down the street (compared to downtown districts), and yet we still wanted a bit of privacy from the world. Between the long awnings and the tall shrubs, it's hard to see much of anything on that porch, and that was probably by design.
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Close-up of the side porch. In the late1950s, my mother stepped out to her beloved side porch one summer evening and saw a bat hanging upside down in the corner. The next week, a contractor was at the house, screening in Mother's porch. She dearly loved that screened-in porch and spent many happy hours there, looking out at the side yard.
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By 1925, front porches were a place to stand for a moment, sheltered from the elements, while you dug out your house keys. Or in this case, pose for an Easter photo (1957). My brother Tommy stands on the left, with Rickey on the right.
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By the 1950s, porches had migrated to the back of the house. After a hard day at the office, we wanted our privacy and we didn't want to share our quiet time with strollers meandering down the street. There were new social rules. Visitors were by invitation only, and if someone decided to drop by (without calling ahead), we could hide safely in the back of the house. This house (my house) was built in 1962. The porch on the back is invisible from neighbors on either side. When built, this was a screened-in porch with a cement floor. In 1979, the windows were installed, and the 12x14' room became a sunporch. We purchased the home in 2012, and did a few more improvements to the room (some repairs and the installation wall-to-wall carpet). This is now the place where we spend 95% of our time.
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Even before proper porches, people tended to congregate in the front of the "old home place." This is a soddie ("the first house") in Dighton, Kansas. It was made of sod - literally.
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To learn more about Addie, click here.
To stay at Addie’s home, click here.
To read more about Rose’s much-loved mid-century brick ranch, click here.
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I love this article!
When I was a little girl, one of the homes my parents rehabbed was a huge 1920 bungalow with two screened summer sleeping porches (both had eventually been glassed in over the years)at the back, one upstairs, one down.
The climate in the San Francisco bay area doesn’t often lend itself to sleeping in the open air, with all that chilly fog, so they got glassed in pretty quickly, according to the women we bought it from (daughters of the original owner, who had grown up in the house).
The house was quite large, two full baths upstairs, one was en suite to the very large master bedroom, the other had a sitzbath and shower and was adjoining the nursery suite (bedroom, linen room lined with cabinets and built-in ironing board, screened sleeping porch about 8×15 feet, and leaded-glassed in sunroom/playroom), and a third bedroom between the two suites; then down the stairs (which had a back stair adjoining the formal stair that went to the pantry), there was a full width living room with fireplace and beamed ceiling, sliding doors to the dining room with its ten-foot long window seat and enormous built in buffet, a corner swing door to the kitchen, and a hall door to the servant’s bedroom and bath.
The downstairs screenporch was much smaller than the upstairs one, just big enough for a chair and a twin bed, so it was probably for the housekeeper’s use. This house had the typical deep, full-width, front porch, with an off-center door, porch swing and quads of columns, and shed dormers front and back. Like a Hazelton, but bigger and more elaborate.
I am from and currently reside in Dighton Kansas!
I was shocked to see a picture of my town in this very interesting and informative article. Thank you for this!
The porches were a main selling point for me, of my 1923 foursquare.
Built on a hill, close to the river, in an original streetcar suburb.
Aside from the large foyer, I fell in love with the full front porch (with tunnel vision through the other porches to the end of the block), the back porch, and the upstairs full porch.
An amusement park was situated nearby, at the end of the streetcar route. I can only imagine the sounds that would have drifted across my balcony, way back when.