Cottage Designs from the Historical American Building Survey

View and print photos and measured drawings of floor plans, exterior elevations and construction details for yesterday's cottages from all parts of the United States.

 

 

Shingled New England Cottage from the Historical American Buildings Survey

Photo: 1682 Shanunga ( Betsy Cary Cottage ), Mitchell Street, Siasconset, Nantucket, MA

 

Click on any of the titles below to read more, to see photos and to print free plans sets that are offered by the HABS.

 

1682 Shanunga ( Betsy Cary Cottage ), Mitchell Street, Siasconset, Nantucket, MA

CARD #MA0427

Originally built in 1682 as a fishing shanty, the Betsy Cary Cottage was expanded into a five room home in 1782. This pretty, rambling, shingled building is typical of early cottages build along the coasts of all of the New England states.

 

1772  Bourbon Street Cottage, New Orleans, Orleans Parish, LA

CARD #LA0018

Known as "Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop," this little home is like many early French culture houses of eighteenth century New Orleans.

 

1800 Shaker South Family Friends Cottage, Watervliet Shaker Road, Colonie Township, Watervliet, Albany, NY

CARD #NY0070

This little wood frame structure was the first building erected by the South Family whose farm was opened in 1800. It is a fine example of the simple but elegant style of the Shakers' furniture and building designs.

 

1808 Julee Cottage, 214 West Zaragoza Street, Pensacola, Escambia, FL

CARD #FL0030

This four-room cottage, built before 1808, is an example of platform frame construction. There are stairs and an outside hatch to a low storage loft. Its louvered window shutters and brick pier footings are common on cottages throughout the coastal areas of the Southeastern U.S..

 

1827 The Foreman's Cottage, Deserted Village, Allaire, Monmouth, NJ

CARD #NJ0608

This little two-story brick cottage was the home of Joseph Johnson, the foreman of the Hopewell Furnace iron works.

 

1860 Creole Cottage 204 South Joachim Street (House), Mobile, Mobile, AL

CARD #AL0581

This house is a good example of the basic "Creole Cottage," which was common in nineteenth-century Mobile. It is a sample of a rapidly disappearing indigenous building type.

 

1880s Boelsen Cottage, West River Drive, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA

CARD #PA2608

Boelson Cottage is an example of early 19th century tenement housing. It was probably built for use as a housing source for workers or domestics for nearby Belmont Mansion.

 

1924 Employee's Cottage, Gorbatch Street, Saint Paul, Aleutians West Census Area, AK

CARD #AK0517

The Employee's Cottage is one of three identical houses built in 1924 by the United States Bureau of Fisheries for its employees on Saint Paul Island. It was built of poured-in-place concrete construction. Wood framing was used for the floors, roof, and interior partitions. The exterior of the cottage was covered in wood sheathing some time in the late twentieth century.

 

 

The Historic American Building Survey is a joint effort of the Library of Congress and the National Park Service. Read more about their efforts to preserve America's heritage by visiting their website: Built in America  To learn more about any of the designs listed here, search for it by its card number. Then, explore the vast and ever-growing HABS collection to view related building designs.

 

 

 

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