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I-House
The two-story
I-house evolved from the central-passage house with two end chimneys.
The addition of a second story reflected the growing prosperity of an
agrarian economy. It is little wonder that the I-house is the predominant
housing type in rural areas.
Geographically, the I-house can be found
from the Middle Atlantic region south to Maryland and Virginia and then
west. First identified as a distinct building type during the 1930s, the
I-house was the most pervasive traditional house type in Indiana, Illinois
and Iowa--hence its name. Because its basic form adapted easily to the
application of a variety of architectural details, the I-house persisted
from the late-eighteenth to the early-twentieth centuries.
The I-house is two stories high, one room
deep and at least two rooms wide. The facade tends to be symmetrical, with a
central entrance in a three- or a five-bay configuration. Building
materials included log, wood frame, brick or stone. Placement of chimneys
varied according to region. Sometimes they were found at each gable-end
flush with the wall, on the house's exterior or paired at the center of the
structure. Demands for additional space frequently necessitated the building
of
ells or
wings at the rear of the house as well as porches.
Despite the I-house's simplicity of form—or
likely because of it—decorative details representing a variety of
architectural styles were freely applied, bridging the gap between a rural,
folk-derived building type and the academic, architect-designed structures
found primarily in the county's urban areas. In Morgan County, the I-house
exhibits a variety of interpretations. The
Greek Revival
style is
seen in details such as a
transom and
sidelights, corner posts and
cornice returns. The Italianate style is expressed in
knee
braces, arched windows and elaborate porches.
I-house: House (c.1880),
259 North Wayne Street
It appears that one of a set of paired front entrance doors on this
I-house has been removed.
I-house: Mitchell-Humphreys
House (c.1870), 289 North Main Street
Excuse Me, But Part of Your House is
Missing
Imagine an I-house that has one-third of it missing and you will
have a folk house type known as a side-hall plan. Its entrance is off-center
at one end of the front façade. Immediately inside the door is a staircase
to the second floor. Instead of having two rooms on each floor, the
side-hall house has only one.
The Hite-Finney house
at the corner of Jefferson and Pike Street in Martinsville is an excellent
example of the side-hall house. Or rather two. The original house consists
of one side-hall plan facing west and one facing north. Note that the full
north façade has the same
fenestration as an I-house.
Side-hall plan: Hite-Finney House (c.1855), 189 North Jefferson Street,
Martinsville
The west (front) façade has the sun striking
it. Do you recognize the
Greek Revival elements, especially the bold
cornice,
cornice returns, and six-over-six
double-hung
windows?
Side-hall plan: House (c.1850), 309 East Morgan Street
Another example of a side-hall plan house
can be found at the corner of East Morgan and Wayne Street.
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