House building question

[GunClick Rick]

 I was at a local fruit stand down the road and the feller workin told me they were closing up as the lady that lived in the house next to it passed away,been there a long time but i never reall looked at the old place,just got what I needed and went on my way.
I always knew it was an older home but it must have really been something in its day,and i never knew the land went back so far,apples oragnges.tangerines and several other trees of plenty.It is an 1800s house,with a tall staircase out front,wrap around porch with the fancy type corner thingy's at the facia board and posts,it must have a cellar or somethin as that porch is way high and the house looks two story.

Now i know we are in a flood plain here especially back then as our dam was not built till 1956, is that why these houses are built way up off the the ground or are there other reasons also?

The children of the lady are pretty much tossin all kinds of stuff out according to the guy that worked for the lady,apparently she was quite a craftsperson also,pottery and other stuff.I am hoping they will not tear the old place down as it still looks pretty good,maybe i should do a little research and see if there is a good story,amazing what ya don't pay attention to till it's too late,i would have loved to known her from just what i was told...I know it was all farmland back then,busy road now.

[Cliff Fendley]

It's strange how we can take a lot of old things for granted until it's gone. I know it has happened around here to old houses and structures that have been torn down or fell down because of disrepair. You might know a little about some of them or who lived there from hearing the elders talk but you know all those places have a story to tell if we could here it.

[JimBob]

My Grandfather had a house similiar to what you describe.The basement is half out of the ground where you had to walk up steps to get into what would be the first story or down steps to enter the basement.The kitchen and dining room were in the basement originally.This type of design house was intended in the summer to open windows in the basement and upstairs  to cause the cooler basement air to be drawn thru the house and out the upstairs to cool it in the summer.It worked well as I don't remember the house being hot inside in pre-central air days back in the 50s.

[GunClick Rick]

Hot dang great info,i knew there had to be a good reason.My grandfolks came out from the dust bowl and lived in a labor camp here,they were tin sheds at the time and he had nine kids.I asked my mom how they stayed cool in the summer,she said they would open the side tin windows that were screened and run a sprinkler on top for awhile and didn't wear much,danged oakies were runnin around here fer years..

[Dakota Widowmaker]

My great-grand parents farm house was built in the early 1900s (1903?) and had nearly 12 coats of paint on it.

It had 5 different roofs over the years on it and when it was finally torn down a few years back (tornado did it in) we saved some of the wood molding. Nobody had lived in the house for quite some time as it had aluminum wiring and the pipes always froze in winter.

It wasn't all that uncomfortable during the summers in North Dakota, but, I only was there to visit... I didn't live in it year round.

The molding and stair case were nice as it was actually from a banker's house who died.

The ceiling in the kitchen was from a bar/restaurant that closed up in the 1890s, as it was "tinned" sheets. I kept a pair of them from the scrap yard as mementos. I found the exact one that was right above my chair when we went to visit. I always got the corner as I was the youngest.

Aside from that, the rest of the house was not all that special. As much as I like to think about the "old days", the walls were thin, insulation was horrible, doors tended to bang really loud when closed, and there was only one bathroom in the whole house.

[JimBob]

WOW,a bathroom in the house,what luxury.LOL

[Delmonico]

This one built in 1900 has the high basement and a lot of steps to the porch.  The floors on the main floor are about 4 feet above the ground.

[GunClick Rick]

The one i mentioned is at leat 8 feet up,alot of stairs going to the porch..

[JimBob]

The one i mentioned is at leat 8 feet up,alot of stairs going to the porch..

That's the type of house I was describing Rick vs the one in Delmonico's picture.

[Delmonico]

That's the type of house I was describing Rick vs the one in Delmonico's picture.

The one in my picture was built in 1900 and has 9 foot ceilings.  The older ones I've seen had about 12 foot ceilings, the seem to have not went as high on the sides by the turn of the century.  BTW that's my house.   Still has the gorgeous vanished wood work intact. 

[StrawHat]

One of the reasons for the "half basements" is they were hand dug.  If you only needed to dig down three or four feet, it was a lot easier and quicker than digging 8 or more feet. 

Older houses were often balloon framed and construction was a team effort.  Not much insulation, and usually just a central furnace or fireplace.  Or wood stove.  Kitchens did not come into the houses for a long time and many homes had summer kitchens to keep the heat outdoors in the summer. 

[Four-Eyed Buck]

next town west of us still has a bunch of the old "painted ladies"( Queen Anne style) homes extant. one of the stops I used to have on the route was built in the 1860's. Sandstone block for the foundation, big tall windows( unusual since a lot have been refurbed and more modern, smaller, windows were put in). I was also watchng another that was being restored, and the owners were trying to stay period correct with a lot of the outside trim and lighting. Haven't been by there in a while, might be worth a look-see..........Buck