The antebellum era and the close of the 19th century frame a period of great agricultural expansion. During this time, farmhouse plans designed by rural men and women regularly appeared in the flourishing Northern farm journals. This book analyzes these vital indicators of the work patterns, social interactions, and cultural values of the farm families of the time. Examining several hundred owner-designed plans, McMurry shows the ingenious ways in which "progressive" rural Americans designed farmhouses in keeping with their visions of a dynamic, reformed rural culture. From designs for...
The antebellum era and the close of the 19th century frame a period of great agricultural expansion. During this time, farmhouse plans designed by rur...
Rural Pennsylvania's landscapes are evocative, richly textured testimonies to the lives and skills of generations of builders--architects as well as local builders and craft workers. Farmhouses and barns, silos and fences, even field patterns attest to how residents over the years have had a sense of place that was not only functional but also comfortable and aesthetically appropriate for the time. From Sugar Camps to Star Barns tells the story of one such place, a landscape that evolved in southwestern Pennsylvania's Somerset County.
Sally McMurry traces the rural life and...
Rural Pennsylvania's landscapes are evocative, richly textured testimonies to the lives and skills of generations of builders--architects as well a...