Florida Dogtrot
by D Hackett
Title
Florida Dogtrot
Artist
D Hackett
Medium
Photograph - Digital
Description
Florida Dogtrot by D Hackett
The 1864 Cracker Homestead is complete with antique furnishings and vintage farm equipment is located at the Forest Capital State Museum in Perry Florida.
The dogtrot, also known as a breezeway house, dog-run, or possum-trot, is a style of house that was common throughout the Southeastern United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
A dogtrot house historically consisted of two log cabins connected by a breezeway or "dogtrot", all under a common roof. Typically one cabin was used for cooking and dining while the other was used as a private living space, such as a bedroom. The primary characteristics of a dogtrot house is that it is typically one or 1-stories, has at least two rooms averaging between 18 to 20 feet (5.5 to 6.1 m) wide that each flank an open-ended central hall. Additional rooms usually take the form of a semidetached ell or shed rooms, flanking the hall to the front or rear.
The breezeway through the center of the house is a unique feature, with rooms of the house opening into the breezeway. The breezeway provided a cooler covered area for sitting. The combination of the breezeway and open windows in the rooms of the house created air currents which pulled cooler outside air into the living quarters efficiently in the pre-air conditioning era.
Secondary characteristics of the dogtrot house includes placement of the chimneys, staircases, and porches. Chimneys were almost always located at each gable end of the house, with each serving one of the two main rooms. If the house was 1 or the rarer two stories, the necessary staircase was usually at least partially enclosed or boxed in. The stairway was most commonly placed in one or both of the main rooms, although it was sometimes placed in the open hallway. Although some houses had only the open central hall and flanking rooms, most dogtrots had full-width porches to the front and/or rear.
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December 21st, 2014
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Comments (30)
David and Carol Kelly
Beautiful capture of history. This is exactly like the house my great grandparents lived in.
D Hackett replied:
Thank you David and Carol. My Great Grandfather build one and raised his family in one.