The house facade can be an effective means for dating the time periods of house construction in field work, once the regional chronology for a particular region has been worked out. There are nine primary parts of a house that are important in the diagnosis of the facade: foundation, general structure, exterior covering material, roof, chimney, windows, entrance doorway, composite appearance, and auxiliary construction. Once the characteristic stylistic elements are recognized, and their type modifications are learned, a little checking on the precise dating for a very few houses in a region can determine the timing of the regional stylistic uses for the several type patterns. Within the United States there are eight significant time periods of construction in domestic architecture after 1830. These time periods are 1830–1850, 1850–1865, 1865–1880, 1880–1900, 1900–1920, 1920–1930, 1930–1940, and 1940–1960. A brief reconnaissance can determine the general elements of chronology and distribution in a region. Field work then can proceed rapidly to block in the sectors which fall into particular time periods, since there will be a degree of architectural conformity within such sectors. Zones of mixed construction can be recognized quickly, by their stylistic mixture, as built up over long time periods. Both in the urban landscape and in the rural locality the diagnosis of the single family residence can be an important tool to the settlement geographer, to the student of sequent occupance, and to the urban geographer in his understanding of the development of a regional landscape.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
John E. Rickert (1967) studied this question.