DATING HISTORIC HOUSES IN ALACHUA COUNTY, FLORIDA By LISA GRECO A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ARCHITECTURAL STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2005 Copyright 2005 by LISA GRECO ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my family for putting up with this thesis and the research field trips I took them on. I would also like to thank the members of my committee, Professor Peter E. Prugh, Professor Kristin Larsen and Professor Charles Hailey, for the valuable support and advice they offered throughout the process. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................1 Why Research Buildings?.............................................................................................2 Why Date Houses? .......................................................................................................3 Why Alachua County?..................................................................................................4 Summary.......................................................................................................................5 2 DATING BUILDINGS ................................................................................................6 Dating Techniques........................................................................................................6 Spread of Technology...................................................................................................8 Summary.......................................................................................................................9 3 HISTORY OF FLORIDA AND ALACHUA COUNTY...........................................11 Early Contacts.............................................................................................................11 Colonial Change .........................................................................................................12 Settling Alachua County.............................................................................................14 Growth and Maturity ..................................................................................................18 Summary.....................................................................................................................22 4 ANALYSIS OF THE HOUSE: STYLE DATING ....................................................23 Vernacular Forms .......................................................................................................24 Early Styles.................................................................................................................27 Early Twentieth Century Styles..................................................................................30 Analysis ......................................................................................................................34 5 ANALYSIS OF THE HOUSE: EXTERIOR MATERIALS AND FEATURES DATING.....................................................................................................................36 Site ..............................................................................................................................36 iv Wood Finishing Marks ...............................................................................................37 Wood Framing............................................................................................................38 Wall Materials ............................................................................................................43 Exterior Paint Finishes................................................................................................47 Doors...........................................................................................................................48 Windows.....................................................................................................................49 Roofing .......................................................................................................................56 Analysis ......................................................................................................................61 6 ANALYSIS OF THE HOUSE: INTERIOR MATERIALS AND FEATURES DATING.....................................................................................................................63 Metal Elements ...........................................................................................................63 Fasteners..............................................................................................................65 Hardware .............................................................................................................67 Flooring.......................................................................................................................69 Wall Treatments..........................................................................................................70 Plaster Walls........................................................................................................70 Paint Finishes.......................................................................................................73 Wallpaper ............................................................................................................74 Moldings and Woodwork....................................................................................75 Ceilings.......................................................................................................................77 Services.......................................................................................................................78 Heating ................................................................................................................78 Lighting ...............................................................................................................79 Analysis ......................................................................................................................81 7 CONCLUSION...........................................................................................................83 Final Analysis .............................................................................................................84 Haile Plantation House and Family Chronology.................................................84 Haile Plantation House Description ....................................................................84 Building Technology Chronology.......................................................................84 Review.................................................................................................................85 Research Opportunities...............................................................................................86 APPENDIX TIMELINE OF BUILDING TECHNOLOGY ......................................88 LIST OF REFERENCES...................................................................................................94 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .............................................................................................99 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure page 3-1 A map of Florida dating from the transfer of Florida to the United States government. (Alachua County Library District Heritage Collection).....................16 3-2 Steamboats carried passengers and cargo along the canals that connected the lakes and towns. (Alachua County Library District Heritage Collection) ..............20 3-3 Train tracks ran down the center of the street in Gainesville. (Alachua County Library District Heritage Collection) .......................................................................20 4-1 1840s log cabin with later rear addition, Hogan’s Cabin, Morningside Park, Gainesville, Florida. .................................................................................................26 4-2 Haile Plantation House, Gainesville, Florida, 1854. ...............................................26 4-3 Merrill House, Jacksonville, Florida. ......................................................................31 4-4 Sears catalog house, Jackonville, Florida................................................................31 4-5 Floor plans of the Haile Plantation House, Gainesville, Florida. (SouthArc 1997, 9-10) ...............................................................................................................35 5-1 Hand hewn and circular saw marks. Haile Plantation House, Gainesville, Florida. .....................................................................................................................39 5-2 Angled saw marks. Hogan’s cabin, Morningside Park, Gainesville, Florida.........39 5-3 A small example of a heavy timber frame structure located in Newport, Rhode Island. .......................................................................................................................41 5-4 Kingsley Plantation slave cabin, Amelia Island, Florida.........................................45 5-5 Tenant house, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings State