Architecture , Building Function and Town Layout

A Central Pennsylvania Town in the Early to Mid 1800s

Dirt Streets on a Grid Pattern

Towns were laid out on a grid pattern like Philadelphia was.

Most small towns had dirt roads until cars became popular in the 1920s.

Horses, and horse drawn wagon were the most popular transportation, so streets had to be cleaned of manure.

Cattle, mules and donkeys were also used for transportation.

Churches Christian Churches were

often the most recognizable buildings in the center of town

Christianity was often the center of town life

Churches were used for religious services, town gatherings and often for government meetings.

The most popular churches in Midstate Pa. were the Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, Brethren, and Episcopal and Mennonite. Amish worshipped in houses.

Inn/ Tavern/ Hotel Every town needed a

place for travelers to stay in order to be recognized by the government as a town.

Inns and Taverns were places to relax, eat, drink and hear and share the news, as well as a place for travelers to stay.

Often town and business meetings were held in the Inns.

Livery Stables Horses were the

primary mode of transportation, besides walking.

A livery Stable was a place you could park, service and feed your horse while you were in town

You could also rent or buy a horse.

Blacksmith Shop Blacksmiths make

and fix metal goods. They were essential

for maintaining farm equipment, wagons, and equipment for riding horses, especially horseshoes.

Tools, nails, hinges, kitchenware and other goods were built by Blacksmiths

One-Room Schoolhouse Before 1820, small

towns hired a Schoolmaster, a man, to educate all their children. Parents or the town paid.

All school children were in one room, there was no grades, and they were finished by 12 or 13 years.

Older students helped younger students.

After 1820 public schools were established and the community paid for the school with their taxes. Teaching became a female dominated profession.

Two Story log or Stone House Most of the 1700

Pennsylvania Dutch houses were log cabins such as this one in Hummelstown. For the timeperiod, they were large and well made.

More expensive stone houses used similar designs and were often bigger.

By the mid 1800s 2 and 3 story modern wood houses became popular.

How are these Pennsylvania Dutch House similar?

General Store

A small store which often looked like a town house.

Often called a Dry-Goods Store.

Sold basic household supplies, such as, clothing, blankets, spices, medicine, cleaning suppplies, canned or dry food, candy, tools, ect.

Similar to today’s mini-marts

Small Factories Small Factories were

located in buildings similar to houses, often with the owner living in the second floor.

As the Industrial Revolution progressed in the mid 1800s, today’s larger multi-story brick structures appeared.

Shoes, clothes, guns, wagons, barrels, ect…

Skilled workers were called mechanics

Rivers, Water Pumps, Wells and Water Troughs

Towns and cities needed water. Most were built along rivers.

Water could be carried by bucket from the river or streams.

Most water was from groundwater wells or pumps dug into the earth.

Water Troughs (wooden containers filled with water ) were located throughout the town for horses to drink from.

Turnpike

Many major roads in Early America, both private and state owned, were toll roads.

To use a toll road you had to pay.

You paid at a gate or a turnpike that had to be lifted to allow you to pass, hence these roads became known as turnpikes.

Canals Canals were man made

water ways. Barges (boats) filled with

cargo were pulled by Mules.

The Union Canal ran from the Schuylkill River at Reading to the Susquehanna River at Middletown. It followed the Swatara River for much of its length.

Canals needed locks to raise the barges higher or lower to adjust for elevation.

Mules Pulling Canal Boat

Railroads The first practical steam

engine on rails was George Stephenson’s “Rocket” (1829).

Trains were in America by 1830 and quickly connected the major cities of the East.

The Pennsylvania Railroad connected Philadelphia to Harrisburg, while the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad connected Reading to Harrisburg by the 1850s.

Trains replaced canals as the primary way large amounts of cargo were moved.

Bridges Most bridges in the early

to mid 1800s were made of wood.

Many bridges in Pennsylvania, including the Columbia-Wrightsville bridge were covered to protect the large wooden trusses from the weather.

As Iron, and later steel, became popular, covered bridges became obsolete

Many bridges were tolled to pay for the bridge

The Columbia-Wrightsville bridge was the longest covered bridge in the world.

Farms Most Pennsylvanians lived on farms in the early to mid 1800s.

Wheat, rye, corn, cattle, pigs, milk, chicken and chicken eggs, Cabbage, carrots, beets, lettuce, apples and dozens of other fruits & vegetables were grown in Pa.

Plows were pulled by cattle, mules or horses. Harvesting was largely done by hand.

By the time of the Civil War (1861) some farms had begun using machines to help harvest crops.

Many farmers went door to door to sell their product in town or they set up stands in farmers markets. Others sold their grain to businesses that exported it from the port of Philadelphia

Pennsylvania Dutch Barn The Pennsylvania Dutch

Barn is an architectural style created during the 1700s and early 1800s in America and distinct to Pennsylvania.

The bottom floor is set back and made of stone and used for animals, workshops and storage..

The wooden middle level overhangs the bottom level.

A hill is used to access the middle level, where farm equipment is parked.

The top can be used for storage.

How many Pa Dutch barns do you see on the bus ride home?

Other Barns in America

Mid Western Barn Style

New England Barn Style

Spring House

These are small structures built above a water source, usually a spring.

It was used to protect a water source.

The spring house is cooler inside, so it was also used to store foods.

Flour Mill

A Flour Mill was a building that processed grain into flour.

It had a large grindstone.

Farmers brought their unprocessed grains (Wheat, corn, rye) to be turned into flour.

Outhouses and Waste Removal In the early to mid 1800s

very few towns had a sewer system. People used outhouses.

Outhouse were a structure build over a hole dug in the ground.

After the hole filled up the outhouse would have to be moved.

In the house would be a chamber pot which would be dumped out in the outhouse, yard or street. Some chamber pots could be attached to a chair.

Trash Removal

In the early to mid 1800s Americans produced little trash.

Trash (usually animal bones, broken pottery, ect) was either thrown in the yard or taken to a pit outside of town.

The pit was set on fire once a year.