Houses that are categorized as being a farmhouse have an architecture style that is as mixed as our American culture. These houses are an unrealized part of our national history and are a record of how people from around the world brought their own unique skills to America to build it into the country that it is.
It also says something about the ingenuity and imagination of the American people in how they don’t follow a certain pattern, but prefer to add their own details to make something unique.
The Start of Farmhouse Architecture
This particular style of architecture doesn’t follow a rigid style like the architecture of a Cape Cod or a Spanish Villa. Instead it is more of a blanket name given to homes that were built simply as shelters for the people working in the agricultural field. The houses were built out of necessity, and not to “keep up with the Jones” like homes in the city were.
Because the people working in agriculture did not have much money to build their houses with, these types of homes were created with whatever materials were easily on hand, and without any formal architectural plans.
Major Changes to Farmhouse Architecture
Materials and building supplies became more readily available once the railroad started to extend out into the countryside. Agricultural workers no longer had to depend on what they could find to build their homes, but could now order and purchase the same supplies as was used for the homes in the city.
The availability of proper building supplies also meant that immigrants could use the building skills that they learned in their home countries on their new American homes.
The Signs of a Farmhouse
While most farmhouses were thrown together to create a shelter, there are 3 constant elements that are found in most of the homes labeled under this specific type of architecture.
First, naturally these homes are found on farms. Second, there was usually a large porch around the outside of the home that was used as a place to sit when the inside of the house got too warm, and as a mudroom to try and keep the inside of the house clean.
Third, the family’s kitchen was usually in the back of the house and the bedrooms were upstairs. Guests were always entertained in the front room of the home which was the first area you came to when you walked into a home built with in the style of Farmhouse architecture.
