Page 54 - Waxahachie, TX Residential Design Guidelines
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Pl annin g a Preservation Project
n a t i o n a l f o l k ( 18 5 0 – 18 9 0 )
The nature of American folk housing changed dramatically as
railroads mushroomed across the continent in the decades from
1850 to 1890. Modest dwellings built far from water transport were
no longer restricted to local materials. Instead, bulky items used
for construction, particularly lumber from distant sawmills in heavily
forested areas, could now be moved rapidly and cheaply over long
distances. As a result, large lumberyards quickly became standard
221 N. Hawkins is an example fixtures in the thousands of new towns which sprouted as trade
of the National Folk style. This centers along the railroad routes. Soon folk houses built with logs,
building is an example of the sod, or heavy hewn frames were being abandoned for wooden
pyramidal style. dwellings constructed with light balloon or braced framing covered
by wood sheathing. By the turn of the century, pre-railroad building
traditions survived only in isolated areas, far from the nearest rail
service.
The railroad-inspired era of national folk housing did not
completely erase the earlier traditions, however, for many of the
previous folk shapes persisted even though now built by different
techniques. These, along with some new shape innovations,
make up six distinctive families of house shapes that dominated
American folk building through the first half of the 20th century.
These families include: gable-front; gable-front-and-wing; hall-and-
parlor; I-house; massed-plan, side-gabled; and pyramidal.
104 Bryson Street, an example of the National Folk style that utilizes the
hall-and-parlor layout.
46 Waxahac hie Residential design guidelines
