From Stone Cottage to Georgian Style in Colonial America

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You know those two-story, take-your-breath-away stone homes you sometimes find closer to city centers and clearly built by skilled tradesmen? Congrats! You’ve just happened upon a Georgian-style home. Why significant? Early American stone homes called upon regional folk styles and were often built by owners themselves. By the 18th century, we had established ourselves in this country and had amassed enough wealth to build more formal, refined structures.

The Georgian style in America made its way here from England, where classical forms of the earlier Italian Renaissance period were popular. Hallmarks of this home style included:

Cliveden Mansion, Germantown, Philadelphia
Five bays across with a center door. Source: chrisstorb
crowned front entrance, Cliveden, Philadelphia, old stone home
Pedimented or crowned front entrance with flanking pilasters
Gable End Roof, Cliveden, Philadelphia, old stone home
Side-gabled roof
Symmetrical arrangement of windows, Cliveden, Philadelphia, old stone home
Symmetrical arrangement of windows and doors
6 light over 6 light pattern, sash window, Cliveden, Philadelphia, old stone home
Multi-paneled sliding sash windows
Two Story Georgian, Cliveden, Philadelphia, old stone home
Two stories
Dentiled Cornice, Cliveden, Philadelphia, old stone home
Dentiled cornice
decorative quoins at the corners of the building, Cliveden, Philadelphia, old stone home
Decorative quoins at corners

The Georgian style (1700-1780) gave way to the Federal style after the American Revolution. Cliveden (Benjamin Chew House, shown above), located in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a fine example of Georgian style. The mansion was in part designed by its owner Benjamin Chew, a successful Philadelphia lawyer, and built by Mennonite master carpenter Jacob Knor, mason John Hesser and stonecutter Casper Geyer. The home takes inspiration from Kew Palace as well as patterns in James Gibbs’s Book of Architecture. An ashlar front of gray Wissahickon schist (the predominant bedrock underlying Philadelphia) and gable ends and back of rubble construction are outstanding features.

Could you see yourself as the master of a grand Georgian estate? Take our stone home personality quiz to find the home style that’s right for you.

References:
Cliveden: The Building of a Philadelphia Countryseat, 1763-1767
Common Building Types: Houses, schools, courthouses

Old Stone Homes for Sale in Ireland

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Ireland, Countryside, Old stone homes for sale in Ireland, Castles for sale in Ireland, Oldstonehouses.com

Source: RJ Tours

We couldn’t let St. Patrick’s Day go by without exploring cozy stone cottages of the Emerald Isle. Have some time today to daydream? Take a look at these properties – your own little slice of Irish paradise!

A nature lover’s dream come true, this three-bedroom cottage is nestled within a horseshoe of mountains known as “The Pocket”. A replica of an original shepherd’s cottage that sat on the site, the cozy stone home offers both a duck pond and babbling brook and hiking trails as far as the eye can see.

Boasting views of both Kenmare Bay and Caha Mountains, this lovingly restored, circa-1800s stone cottage features two bedrooms, two living rooms divided by the home’s original stone fireplace and a garden that needs the transformative touch of a green thumb.

Brandon Lodge, a honey-colored granite farmhouse located in County Kilkenny, is perched on the southern side of Mount Brandon. Carefully restored in 2005, the home offers three bedrooms and the best of both town and country.

Belvelly Castle in County Cork desperately needs a new master – could it be you? Dating to the 13th century and built by the Hodnett family, the property later fell into the hands of Sir Walter Raleigh. The fortified tower house stands 80 feet tall and sits at the edge of a protected estuary. Planning permission has been granted to restore the structure.

A Sane Way to Save a Neglected Stone Home

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Something about underdogs and things on the verge of extinction speak to me. Even when things look bleak, shouldn’t we always cling on to that last kernel of hope?

When I see a dilapidated stone home, I see only the possibilities, where others see only “money pit”. Are these love pangs just a flight of fancy? Sometimes I wonder. But then the logical side of me jumps immediately to the defense. If it weren’t for the dreamers, we’d have no Monticello, no Grand Central Station … no lasting historical monuments. Nothing but parking lots and convenience stores.

And so this story of a Germantown, Wisconsin, couple really speaks to me. They went about their daily lives, content to live in their 1970s ranch-style home. Until, one day, on a commute to work, they noticed something: an old stone home. Sure, a tree was growing up through the porch and the rubble foundation beneath the home was crumbling, but they saw only the what-could-bes. “One day, wouldn’t it be nice to live in that place?” they mused. And then, fate stepped in and placed a for-sale sign in the front yard. Eureka! The couple wacked through weeds and overgrown brush to make their way to the windows for a look inside. Love at first sight.

After taking a deep breath, they bought the property and then spent the next 25 years of their lives bringing the Greek Revival-style home back to its former glory. What a smart way to make historic preservation more bearable – both emotionally and financially. Take baby steps, do what you can, step back, reassess and pivot where needed and when your pocket allows.

Do you know someone who adopted an old stone home and worked wonders to renovate it? We’d love to hear your story!

Three Fabulous Mid-Atlantic Fixer Uppers for Sale

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“Diamond in the rough”. “Fixer upper”. “As is”. Sure, there’s more than one way to spin the description but only one way to make a neglected stone home livable again: a lot of elbow grease, patience and plenty of padding in the mortgage for renovations.

But these three historic properties may be worth the extra effort it takes to modernize and mend poorly thought-out “improvements”. Take a peek and tell us how you’d update each home if you had the means to take on ownership.

Federal Style Stone Home, Pottstown, Pennsylvania, Levengood Farm, 548 Manatawny St
This stately circa-1808 Federal-style home is located in historic Pottstown, Pennsylvania, a borough just 32 miles northwest of Philadelphia. The home was built by a prosperous farmer in the Levengood family and originally sat on 130 acres of land. Evaluated by architect Daniel T. Campbell in late 2012, the home features a stucco-over-brownstone exterior and boasts its original paneled wood doors and cabinets, lathe-turned stair woodwork and hand-planed moldings, chair-rails and floorboards. The five-bay, center-hall plan with two through-parlors, a north-south gable roof and gable-end fireplaces features both a basement and spacious attic, plus summer kitchen. What’s not to love?

Old stone home, Hampton Township, New Jersey
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say, and we see so much potential in this old stone beauty, located in Hampton Township, New Jersey. Yes, the interior needs a major overhaul, but the exposed beams and open basement hearth provide such wonderful inspiration. Plus, this circa-1790 home offers four bedrooms and sits on 25 acres of land.

Old Limestone home, Moravian home, Hope, New Jersey
Oh heaven, will someone please adopt this home? This circa-1830s three-story limestone home is situated within the historic Moravian village of Hope, New Jersey. Close to an old stone gristmill and a meeting house, the home boasts original trim and two original fireplaces. The property would require vision and someone with a passion for historic preservation but the pay-off could be priceless.

Old Stone Homes of New England

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When we think of old homes in New England, images of timber-clad saltboxes or clapboard cottages may come to mind. But, believe it or not, cozy stone homes do exist in states north of New York. You’ll find the majority of these fieldstone gems in areas (Rhode Island, Connecticut) where both limestone and mortar were prevalent. But on occasion up pops an outlier,  most likely built by someone who brought the stone building tradition with him from another state or even Europe.

Take a peek at these lovely stone homes, currently for sale in New England. Viewers beware: These beaut’s will no doubt tug at your heartstrings!

old stone home, Colonial home, Alburgh, Vermont, Lake Champlain

This circa-1825 cut-stone Colonial located in Alburgh, Vermont, boasts a breathtaking view of Lake Champlain.

old stone home, Calais, Maine

The best of old and new: This circa-1880 stone home in Calais, Maine, was completely renovated in 2013.

old stone home, Dutch colonial, Van Deusen family, Massachusetts, Berkshire, historic home

Constructed in 1771 by the Van Deusen family, this rare example of Dutch colonial architecture is located east of the Hudson River Valley. This Great Barrington, Massachussetts, gem sits on over 10 acres.

David Sisson house, old stone home, old stone inn, Little Compton, Rhode Island

Built in 1854 by David Sisson, an iron and textile manufacturer, this three-story granite home, located in Little Compton, Rhode Island, most recently served as a luxury inn.

old stone home, Stonington, Connecticut

Located in Stonington, Connecticut, this stone cottage was built in 1790 and sits on over six acres of property.

Historic Stone Landmarks at Risk

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Saving old buildings seems a struggle, a tug of war between individuals who seek to preserve our heritage and those in charge of the structure, the land it sits on … or the purse strings.

Right now, two stone structures are at risk as groups involved in their care work to reach compromise.

Steuben House, Dutch Colonial, sandstone building, George Washington

The Steuben House in River Edge, New Jersey, is an excellent example of Dutch colonial style. The sandstone structure served as General George Washington’s headquarters in 1780. Source: Ken Lund.

The Steuben House, located at Historic New Bridge Landing in River Edge, New Jersey, is a Revolutionary War landmark, as it witnessed an important retreat from British forces led by Gen. George Washington on November 20, 1776, and also served as Washington’s headquarters for a time in 1780. The sandstone building, an excellent example of Dutch colonial architecture, is long overdue for repairs; talks are ongoing amongst parties involved: the Bergen County Historical Society, the state of New Jersey and the Department of Environmental Protection. Difficulty in raising funds to make repairs and improvements and disputes over types of improvements that can be made at the park have delayed progress.

Newburgh Dutch Reformed Church, Greek Revival Style, Alexander Jackson Davis, fieldstone church

The Newburgh Dutch Reformed Church is a fine example of Greek Revival style. The endangered fieldstone building needs a new roof. Source: Abandonedhudsonvalley.com.

A New York state historic site in desperate need of TLC, the former Newburgh Dutch Reformed Church is an outstanding example of Greek Revival style. The church, designed by famed American architect Alexander Jackson Davis, was built in 1838 on a hill overlooking the Hudson River. The structure, reminiscent of the ancient Greek temple at Illissos, rests on a five-foot-high podium, features four 37-foot-tall columns and fieldstone walls that were once covered in stucco and painted to resemble stone. In recent years, wall and ceiling collapses have left the building vulnerable to decay and vandalism. Funds to stabilize a failing roof are desperately needed; the city of Newburgh and the Newburgh Preservation Association have reached out to Newburgh’s Community Land Bank for assistance.

Do you know of a historic stone structure that can’t seem to catch a break? Share with us!

 

When the World Gives You Lemons …

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You’ve purchased a plot of land that happens to include the remains of an old stone structure (home, barn, mill, what have you). Maybe the walls are still standing and the roof is intact (although it’s about to cave into the structure). Or perhaps all that remains is the rubbled outline of a barn foundation.

old marble structure, stone ruins, Alford, MA

Thirty-five acre property that includes old marble structure, Alford, MA. Source: Zillow.

You certainly don’t have the funds to rebuild this home (although you may desperately long to). What to do? Don’t demolish, but incorporate the remains into a brand new structure.

Need some inspiration to get your creative juices flowing? Take a look at The White House, located on the Scottish Isle of Coll. A forward-thinking couple decided to shore up the walls of the abandoned stone home, and nestle their new eco-friendly home within it. The old stone walls protect the new structure from brutal winds while lending a sense of permanence to a modern structure built of locally sourced, low-impact materials.

old stone home, Scotland, adaptive reuse, new home in old stone home

A new eco-friendly home built within the remains of The White House, Isle of Coll, Scotland. Source: Wtarchitecture.com.

Springdale Farm, a circa-1837 estate located in Brinklow, Maryland, boasts European-style gardens planted within the confines of the property’s old stone bank barn, which was destroyed by fire in the 1940s. Its ruins were repointed to form the perimeter of the walled-in garden, where irises, peonies, roses, foxgloves, hybrid daylilies, baptisia, mums bloom.

Old stone ruins, bank barn ruins, garden inside old stone ruins

English gardens planted within remains of old stone bank barn, Springdale Farm, Brinklow, Maryland. Source: Dcmud.com.

On Pico, a remote volcanic island 800 miles west of Portugal, firm SAMI Arquitectos, in an effort to save 16th-century ruins, built a two-story concrete vacation home within the basalt stone walls of a long-since-decayed home. Four bedrooms are located on the ground floor, which in the stone home housed livestock.

old basalt stone ruins, new home in old stone ruins, adaptive reuse

New cement two-story vacation home built within the ruins of an old basalt stone home, Pico, Portugal. Source: Dezeen.com.

Back in the states, near Baltimore, Maryland, circa-1850s buildings (formerly part of the Poole and Hunt Foundry) house apartments, condos, office space and shops in a community coined Clipper Mill. The community pool is of particular note, as it is built within the the basement area of a former machine shop.

A community pool has been built within the ruins of a foundry in the Clipper Mill community, Baltimore, Maryland. Source: Thornhillbaltimore.com.

A community pool has been built within the ruins of a foundry in the Clipper Mill community, Baltimore, Maryland. Source: Thornhillbaltimore.com.

Have you salvaged old stone ruins? Or have you seen an absolutely extraordinary story of old stone homes and adaptive reuse? Share with us!

A Pro Stone President?

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Thomas Jefferson, architecture, brick and stone construction

Founding father and third president Thomas Jefferson was a proponent of stone and brick home construction.

…We … will produce no permanent improvement to our country while the unhappy prejudice prevails that houses of brick or stone are less wholesome than those of wood … A country whose buildings are of wood can never increase in its improvements to any considerable degree. Their duration is highly estimated at 50 years. Every half century then our country becomes a tabula rasa, whereon we have to set out anew, as in the first moment of seating it. Whereas when buildings are of durable materials, every new edifice is an actual and permanent acquisition to the state, adding to its value as well as to its ornament.”

Thomas Jefferson was quite dismayed by colonists’ insistence on building timber-framed homes, of which he wrote, “It is impossible to devise things more ugly, uncomfortable, and happily more perishable.”

Ouch! Harsh words. But why all the masonry haters in early America? Back in the day, stone homes were considered a big no-no, at least if you spoke to early colonists who migrated to New England and the Tidewater region from southeast England. The reasoning was thus:

  • Stone and brick were considered poor insulators that let in cold air and damp conditions unless packed tightly together to form 2 to 3-foot-thick walls. Dew that gathered on thin interior stone or brick walls created an unhealthy living environment.
  • Lime used to make mortar was scarce, as were stone masons.
  • Lumber! Trees had to be cleared from a home site before construction could begin so why not use what was readily available?
  • Timber framing was familiar to this group, homesick and longing for reminders of the Old Country.
Cuckoos Farm Little Baddow, timber framed home, England

English colonists built homes to resemble those they left behind, like this 17th century home located near Chelmsford, England.

Parson Capen House, Topsfield Massachusetts, timber framed colonial home

The Parson Capen House, located in Topsfield, Massachusetts, is a fine example of 17th century New England architecture. The home bears a strong resemblance to houses in Toppesfield, England.

Who loved a cozy, solidly built stone home? Dutch settlers in the Hudson valley of New York and northern New Jersey, and German, Quaker and Scots-Irish settlers in eastern Pennsylvania. Each group constructed homes in farm styles similar to those they left behind in the Old Country. The best way to cure the damp caused by condensation, wrote Jefferson? Light a fire!

English stone cottage

This all-stone cottage, located in Northern England, would have served as a farmer’s home.

Samuel Fulton Stone House, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Irish settlers

The Samuel Fulton Home, originally located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, was patterned after old stone farmsteads that dotted the countryside in Northern England, Scotland and Ireland.

References:
Notes on the State of Virginia by Thomas Jefferson
Domestic Architecture of the American Colonies and of the Early Republic by Fiske Kimball
Early American Architecture: From the First Colonial Settlements to the National Period by Hugh Morrison

Old Stone Fireplaces: The Heart of the Home

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old stone fireplace, granite fireplace, Old Rock House, Georgia, old stone homes

Old granite fireplace in the cellar of The Rock House, Thompson, Georgia. Source: Chasingcarolina.com.

It’s pretty safe to say we have an ongoing love affair with fireplaces. Who doesn’t ooh and ahhh at the site of chimney ruins or perk up at the very mention of a wood-burning fire. Aside from the crackle and pop of oily logs as they simmer in an open hearth, what draws us so keenly to these expansive structures? With blizzards lashing the East Coast and all eyes on the weather forecast, it seems a perfect time to focus on old stone fireplaces and their importance in the design of early American homes.

Old Stone Chimney, NIagra Falls, New York. Source: Niagrahistory.org.
Barnes house chimney, Greenbrier, Tennessee, Source: Hikinginthesmokies.wordpress.com.
Old stone chimney ruins, Mt. Airy, Maryland. Source: Getawayhikes.com.

The earliest fireplaces were cut out of one side of a single-room dwelling, log cabin or cottage, with an exterior chimney of clay over a sturdy, upright stick frame. The interior was coated with more clay, mud or plaster to fireproof the structure. These so-called “Welsh chimneys” or “mudcat chimneys” were certainly a fire hazard and eventually gave way to sturdier structures of brick and/or stone.

Mud-packed, stick-framed chimney, Arkansas. Source: Farmhandscompanion.com.
Example of early Welsh chimney, Godiah Spray Tenant House, Historic St Mary’s City, Maryland. Source: Milaminvirginia.com.

In Colonial New England a centrally located chimney quickly became the norm. The stone column itself radiated heat while large fireplaces within the chimney faced out to each of two first-floor rooms. If the first floor was not at ground level, a fieldstone chimney would have been supported, underneath the first floor, by a load-bearing foundation of brick, fieldstone, rubble stone or a mixture of all three. The rectangular structure measured 5 to 10 feet on each side and featured timber “cradles” at the ceiling to further support the chimney. Oftentimes, a bake oven was installed inside this foundation.

central chimney, Hasley House, old historic homes

Example of central chimney, Hasley House, circa 1648, Southampton, New York.

In the Mid-Atlantic and Tidewater regions, chimneys were embedded in end walls or pushed to the outside completely. End chimneys served two purposes: to keep heat out of the home during summer months when the fireplace was used for cooking and to allow for a front and back door connected by a central hallway — and much-needed cross ventilation.

end wall chimneys, old stone chimneys, old stone homes

Example of end wall stone chimneys, Hezekiah Alexander House, circa 1774, Charlotte, North Carolina

Unique to the Delaware and Hudson Valleys and Dutch settlers was the “jambless” (sideless) fireplace comprised of a stone or dirt hearth, an iron, brick or stone backing to protect the wall behind it and a hood and chimney that led the smoke up out of the home. Bonus: Residents could sit on three sides of the fireplace. Drawback: The hood was an ineffective way to draw smoke out of the home.

old stone fireplace, granite fireplace, old rock house, Georgia, old stone house

Granite hearth, The Rock House, Thomson, GA. Source: Chasingcarolina.com.

Early stone fireplaces were massive (12 to 15 feet in width). Why? The fireplace served as a light and heat source (both day and night in cold weather), cookstove and storage space for a vast array of cooking equipment – spits, pots and more. Constructed of native stone, the fireplace featured an opening capped with a piece of timber or stone (lintel or “mantel tree”) from which cooking tools hung. From this lintel the formal mantelpiece evolved.

Although the stove replaced the open hearth as a means of cooking food, we are left with these lovely reminders of days gone by. And thanks to caring homeowners and historic preservation groups, examples of old stone chimneys and hearths will remain for generations to come.

Resources:
Early Cooking Hearths by Gregory LeFever
Early American Architecture: From the First Colonial Settlements to the National Period by Hugh Morrison
The Mabee House: Jewel of the Mohawk Valley
Colonials: Design Ideas for Renovating, Remodeling, and Building New by Matthew Schoenherr
American Architecture: An Illustrated Encyclopedia by Cyril M. Harris
Grandeur and Grace in the Ohio Country; Building America from the Ground Up, 1784-1860 by William E. Firestone