# Identify this style of Midwest farmhouse **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 24, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-style-of-midwest-farmhouse/551290 "2010-08-24T14:22:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Joe\_Kerrman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/45deac/32.png) [@Joe\_Kerrman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Kerrman)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-style-of-midwest-farmhouse/551290/1 "2010-08-24T14:22:47Z")
I couldn’t decide whether to post this in General Questions or here, but I thought this might be open to some discussion and artistic interpretation. I was born and raised on the East Coast and never made it farther than Pittsburgh during my first 23 years or so. But my career in journalism took me first to the Erie, Pa., area and later to Cleveland. I’d never seen [this style](http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2020-Sunnyside-Rd_Vermilion_OH_44089_1112496263) of house until I lived in that region, where I saw them all over the place. [Here](http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/21937-State-Route-301_Wellington_OH_44090_1118020644) are two more [examples](http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/118-East_Wellington_OH_44090_1118184325). I was used to stone farmhouses, center-hall Colonials, Arts and Crafts bungalows and Victorian houses. These all feature a one-story section next to a two-story section, and seem to have inspired the modern split-level. They generally date from the 1850s to the early 1900s. I can’t find pictures of the most sprawling versions that I’ve toured; one I almost bought had 6-8 rooms downstairs and four bedrooms upstairs. I used to call them Western Reserve style, but I can’t find anything on a Google search. I’m now back on the East Coast and turn to the Dope for help. I’d love to know anything more about them, a name, an inspiration, whatever. Thanks! JK ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-style-of-midwest-farmhouse/551290/2 "2010-08-24T14:30:55Z")
I would have naively called that [“farmhouse style.”](http://www.trustile.com/findyourstyle/farmhouse.asp?cid=389) ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-style-of-midwest-farmhouse/551290/3 "2010-08-24T14:35:04Z")
I dunno, but those are examples of typical turn of the century farmhouses all over the midwest. Maybe the farms you’re used to were built a bit earlier so they have a different aesthetic? I think the term for these is Colonial, but I’m not sure. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-style-of-midwest-farmhouse/551290/4 "2010-08-24T15:19:35Z")
My initial thought was that it was a popular model of Sears Kit House. After poking around, the 1923 “Greenview” is a near match. > **[Sears Greenview - Wing and Gable Farmhouse - 1923 Kit Houses - Vernacular...](https://www.antiquehomestyle.com/plans/sears/1923sears/23sears-greenview.htm)** > > A popular and ubiquitous design during the first quarter of the 20th century was the vernacular wing-and-gable farmhouse. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Kerrman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/45deac/32.png) [@Joe\_Kerrman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Kerrman)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-style-of-midwest-farmhouse/551290/5 "2010-08-24T20:01:29Z")
Thanks to all who answered. **Knead** and **Hello** , your photos pay homage to the design – as do split-levels – but the actual houses are more specific. They all feature a pretty distinct one-story section of two to four rooms and another two-story section with four to eight rooms, both sections visible from the front. Both of your designs are L-shaped with an equal number of levels all around. I’m looking for descriptions for a book I’m writing – obviously not an architecture book, as I don’t have the chops for that – just a novel, and wanted to be as accurate as I can. I like both “wing and gable” and “Midwest farmhouse” for descriptors. If anyone else has other suggestions, I’ll take them. Thanks! JK ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-style-of-midwest-farmhouse/551290/6 "2010-08-24T20:15:19Z")
In [this similar design](http://www.antiquehomestyle.com/plans/sears/1923sears/23sears-silverdale.htm), they call it a “vernacular farmhouse” where vernacular apparently means _a type of architecture which is indigenous to a specific time or place (not imported or copied from elsewhere)._ translation: “Its the kind of farmhouse they build 'round these parts.” ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-style-of-midwest-farmhouse/551290/7 "2010-08-24T20:52:40Z")
Could it be that the photos in the OP are houses that started as a basic 2-story, with the rooms on the side added later? There are a lot of those around here (central Iowa). Or not. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-style-of-midwest-farmhouse/551290/8 "2010-08-24T21:00:18Z")
Balloon frame, L-shaped house. ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-style-of-midwest-farmhouse/551290/9 "2010-08-25T04:05:47Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Could it be that the photos in the OP are houses that started as a basic 2-story, with the rooms on the side added later? There are a lot of those around here (central Iowa). > > Or not. 🙂 Funny, my hunch was just the opposite: that it was a very small, possibly one-room cabin that was added on to. If you take away the two-story part it looks very much like 1880s era cabins from around here (Texas). ---
**Author:** ![Dingus\_Khan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Dingus\_Khan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dingus_Khan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-style-of-midwest-farmhouse/551290/10 "2010-08-26T06:03:06Z")
Four-square? Prairie style/school? I grew up in one. That non-second story is usually an add-on (at least in the older ones), and is almost always the kitchen section, so you don’t heat up the upstairs while cooking during summer. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-style-of-midwest-farmhouse/551290/11 "2010-08-26T06:13:44Z")
I’ve seen that called ‘farmhouse’ here in the Northeast. Two of the realtors in the cites called it ‘colonial’, I suppose based on the porch posts. I know realtors don’t like to use the term ‘farmhouse’ unless they’re selling a farm. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-style-of-midwest-farmhouse/551290/12 "2010-08-26T12:50:30Z")
Last night I consulted _[At Home in the Heartland: Midwestern Domestic Architecture](http://www.amazon.com/At-Home-Heartland-Robert-Winter/dp/B001KZHGU6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282826550&sr=8-1)_ and _[What Style is It? A Guide to American Architecture](http://www.amazon.com/What-Style-American-Architecture-Revised/dp/0471250368/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282826608&sr=1-1)_ and came up with nothing similar. I thought about trying to contact Robert Winter to ask him but after reading his [resume](http://pickwickstestate.weebly.com/800-batchelder-tiles.html) :eek: I think that 1) it would be difficult and 2) he would have little time for me. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-style-of-midwest-farmhouse/551290/13 "2010-08-26T13:51:43Z")
> [@Dingus\_Khan](#): > > Four-square? Prairie style/school? [Prairie style](http://0.tqn.com/d/architecture/1/0/g/P/prairie-iStock_000000160679_1.jpg) is associated with Frank Lloyd Wright. With their long, low, flat-roofed profiles and stylized design elements, prairie style homes are about as unlike the OP’s houses as is possible. A foursquare has a [square footprint](http://www.oldhouseweb.com/architecture-and-design/american-foursquare-1890-1930.shtml), so it’s not that. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-style-of-midwest-farmhouse/551290/14 "2010-08-26T14:20:35Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Balloon frame, L-shaped house. Balloon frame would be my pick too, looking at google image “balloon frame farmhouse”. At least it’s in the ballpark. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-style-of-midwest-farmhouse/551290/15 "2010-08-26T15:21:00Z")
I thought “balloon frame” referred more to construction technique than architectural style. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-style-of-midwest-farmhouse/551290/16 "2010-08-26T15:33:42Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I thought “balloon frame” referred more to construction technique than architectural style. If Tom Silva and Norm Abram have taught me anything…you are right. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-style-of-midwest-farmhouse/551290/17 "2010-08-26T15:52:35Z")
If anyone can identify a balloon-frame house by looking at a photo of the exterior, they must have X-ray eyes. The term refers, as others have said, to how the house was put together, specifically how the wall and floors were framed, not to the architectural style of the house. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Kerrman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/45deac/32.png) [@Joe\_Kerrman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Kerrman)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-style-of-midwest-farmhouse/551290/18 "2010-08-26T18:38:15Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by **TriPolar** : > \*Two of the realtors in the cites called it ‘colonial’, I suppose based on the porch posts. I know realtors don’t like to use the term ‘farmhouse’ unless they’re selling a farm. \* When I lived in Ohio, my sensibilities were reeled by the liberties Realtors would take with the term “Colonial.” I have a very narrow definition of that. This may be a version of Colonial. However, I lived in what was basically a common split-level design, although instead of having a full half-set of stairs down to the family room and garage, it was just one step. That was called “Colonial.” :rolleyes: So the Realtors don’t get a say here, unless they have some more ammunition. > [@](#): > > Originally posted by **Crotalus** > \*If anyone can identify a balloon-frame house by looking at a photo of the exterior, they must have X-ray eyes. The term refers, as others have said, to how the house was put together, specifically how the wall and floors were framed, not to the architectural style of the house. \* Yes, balloon-frame houses were two-story homes built with exterior studs running from the foundation to the attic. Modern houses typical have each floor framed individually. That’s why older houses tend to burn quickly if they catch on fire, unless they’ve had fireblocks retrofitted. Looks like 1) I know more about houses than I thought and 2) I’ve stumped The Dope. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-style-of-midwest-farmhouse/551290/19 "2010-08-26T21:19:42Z")
> [@Dingus\_Khan](#): > > Four-square? Prairie style/school? > > I grew up in one. That non-second story is usually an add-on (at least in the older ones), and is almost always the kitchen section, so you don’t heat up the upstairs while cooking during summer. Around here where the original settlement was anywhere from 1840 to 1860, the one story wing was typically the initial residence, often two rooms but not uncommonly just one all purpose room. Once the barn and a granary was built and the family became a bit more prosperous the two story addition was constructed. Typically the big farmhouse kitchen stayed in the initial one story wing . ``` The Four Square House by definition had a square ground plan. Typically it also had four rooms on the ground floor and four rooms on the second floor, an attic and hipped roof with a chimney right up the middle serving room stoves or a gravity system central furnace. Its heyday was from about the turn of the 19th - 20th Century up through WWI and into the 1930s. Sears-Roebuck did sell plans and precut lumber, windows, doors for these. Sears also sold a one and one half story bungalow house that was very popular. The materials came in on the railroad on two or three flat cars. ``` ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-style-of-midwest-farmhouse/551290/20 "2010-08-26T21:35:45Z")
I used to have access to a book, an architectural survey of the homes in the Kentucky county where I used to live. It was a treasure trove or architectural styles. The houses pictured remind me of the farmhouses which were built or expanded upon single- or double-pen log homes. Some references were made to I-plan houses too. I don’t know if any of these terms relate or not. I’ll try to look around a bit and see if I can find some references online to the book. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-style-of-midwest-farmhouse/551290.md?page=2)