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