A potato house is a structure built for the storage of harvested

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

es or

sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the Convolvulus, bindweed or morning glory family (biology), family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a r ...

es. Such buildings were common in

Sussex County, Delaware Sussex County is located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Delaware, on the Delmarva Peninsula. As of the 2020 census, the population was 237,378. The county seat is Georgetown. The first European settlement in the state of Delaware w ...

, and adjoining areas of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

, and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

in the early 20th century, when sweet potato production was at its local peak. Similar structures were used in Maine to store potatoes.

Delaware

The potato houses in Delaware were typically two-story wood-frame structures, of tall and narrow proportions, heated in winter with a coal or wood stove. Potatoes were stored from October through February, requiring a constant temperature of 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The potato houses were constructed to allow the free circulation of air among the stored crop, sometimes employing gaps between the bins and the exterior walls or at the floor level. The tall, narrow proportions of the houses encouraged circulation. Windows were typically provided at the top of the house to allow ventilation if temperatures rose too high. Multiple layers of siding, the use of

red rosin paper Rosin paper (red building paper, red rosin paper, brown rosin paper, slip sheet paper, rosin-sized sheathing paper, and building paper) is a heavy duty felt paper used in construction such as underlayment under flooring and siding. The name "ros ...

for sealing against drafts, and sometimes the use of sawdust as insulation were other measures to safeguard the crop. In general, potato houses were two stories tall, with gable roofs aligned with the long axis. The entrances were through the gable ends, with doors at the first and second floors in the front with an attic window for ventilation in the gables. Rear elevations usually featured a door at the first floor and windows at the second floor and gable. Side elevations were generally plain, with shuttered windows or doors. Openings fit tightly. While two-story elevations were typical, 1-1/2 to three-story houses existed. Most potato houses have been demolished or have been converted to other uses. A number of surviving potato houses has been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Maine

As the cultivation of potatoes expanded in the upper Saint John valley, harvested potatoes were stored in adapted barns, typically low Acadian barns, or in the basements of houses. More intense cultivation brought more draft animals, and changes to Maine barns and storage. Purpose-built potato barns were built into hillsides, ideally near a railroad for easy shipment.

References

Agricultural buildings in the United States {{Agriculture-stub