Families and Farmhouses in Nineteenth-Century Amerca

Vernacular Design and Social Change

Sally McMurry

Narrated by Angie Hickman

Available from Audible

Book published by University of Tennessee Press

The antebellum era and the close of the 19th century frame a period of great agricultural expansion. During this time, farmhouse plans designed by rural men and women regularly appeared in the flourishing Northern farm journals. This book analyzes these vital indicators of the work patterns, social interactions, and cultural values of the farm families of the time. Examining several hundred owner-designed plans, McMurry shows the ingenious ways in which "progressive" rural Americans designed farmhouses in keeping with their visions of a dynamic, reformed rural culture. From designs for efficient work spaces to a concern for self-contained rooms for adolescent children, this fascinating story of the evolution of progressive farmers’ homes sheds new light on rural America’s efforts to adapt to major changes brought by industrialization, urbanization, the consolidation of capitalist agriculture, and the rise of the consumer society.

REVIEWS:

“This original and many-faceted excursion into rural history demonstrates how a conjuncture of current social issues can promote novel ways of reinterpreting the recent past....Good new insights, like the ones found here, enhance our craft.”

—American Historical Review

“An important addition to the history of domestic architecture.”

—Reviews in American History

“A useful addition to the growing literature on the relationship between families and the physical structures in which they live.”

—Journal of Interdisciplinary History

“An excellent, well-written, information-packed book. Anyone interested in agriculture, the rural landscape, or vernacular domestic architecture will find the book valuable.”

—South Dakota History

“Impressively argued and abundantly illustrated… McMurry makes exemplary use of their words and pictures and also draws upon an imposing mass of other primary and secondary sources. Both her analysis and her bibliography will be helpful to students of nineteenth-century life.”

—Indiana Magazine of History