Florida cracker architecture is a style of

vernacular architecture Vernacular architecture is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. This category encompasses a wide range and variety of building types, with differing methods of construction, from around the world, bo ...

typified by a wood-frame house. It was widespread in the 19th century and is still popular with some developers as a source of design themes.

Florida cracker Florida crackers were colonial-era British and American pioneer settlers in what is now the U.S. state of Florida; the term is also applied to their descendants, to the present day, and their subculture among white Southerners. The first cracke ...

refers to colonial-era English pioneer settlers and their descendants. There was no

air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...

, and the new immigrants to the Sunshine State had to depend on nature to get some relief from the heat. Houses of this style are characterized by

metal roof A metal roof is a roofing system made from metal pieces or tiles characterized by its high resistance, impermeability and longevity. It is a component of the building envelope. Zinc, copper and steel alloys are commonly used. History Copper has pla ...

raised floor A raised floor (also raised flooring, access floor(ing), or raised-access computer floor) provides an elevated structural floor above a solid substrate (often a concrete slab) to create a hidden void for the passage of mechanical and electrical ...

s, and straight central hallways from the front to the back of the home (sometimes called "dog trot" or "shotgun" hallways, similar to the

shotgun house A shotgun house is a narrow rectangular domestic residence, usually no more than about wide, with rooms arranged one behind the other and doors at each end of the house. It was the most popular style of house in the Southern United States from t ...

design). They built their homes surrounded by wide verandas or porches, often wrapping around the entire home, to provide shade for their windows and walls. Some houses had a clerestory that would improve the ventilation in the interior.

Examples

*Big Bend Farm Buildings at the Tallahassee Museum in Tallahassee, Florida *Cracker Homestead at the

Forest Capital Museum State Park Forest Capital State Museum is a Florida State Park located south of Perry on US 19/US 98. The museum contains displays that recount the history of the forest industry as well as the wildlife of the forest. Adjacent to the museum is the Cracke ...

in Perry, Florida * Bensen House in Grant, Florida * Plumb House in Clearwater, Florida * Winchester Symphony House in Eau Gallie, Florida
Laura (Riding) Jackson Historic House
in Vero Beach, Florida

References

External links

* * * {{cite web , title=Cracker House , work=A History of Central Florida Podcast , publisher=University of Central Florida , url= http://stars.library.ucf.edu/ahistoryofcentralfloridapodcast/15/
Cracker Houses
American architectural styles Florida cracker culture Vernacular architecture in Florida

Examples

See also

References

External links