Thedogtrot, also known as abreezeway house,dog-run, orpossum-trot, is a style of house that was common throughout theSoutheastern United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries.[1][2] Some theories place its origins in the southernAppalachian Mountains. Some scholars believe the style developed in the post-Revolution frontiers ofKentucky andTennessee. Others note its presence in theSouth Carolina Lowcountry from an early period. The main style point was a largebreezeway (instead of ahallway) through the center of the house to cool occupants in the hot southern climate.[1][3]
Architects continue to design variants of dogtrot houses using modern materials.[4][5][6]
A dogtrot house historically consisted of twolog cabins connected by abreezeway or "dogtrot", all under a common roof. Typically, one cabin was used for cooking and dining, while the other was used as a private living space, such as a bedroom. The primary characteristics of a dogtrot house are that it is typically one story (although1+1⁄2-story and rarer two-story examples survive), and has at least two rooms, typically 18–20 feet (5.5–6.1 m) wide that each flank an open-ended central hall. Additional rooms usually take the form of a semidetachedell or shed flanking the hall, most commonly at the rear. Enclosed shed rooms are also sometimes found at the front, although a shed-roof front porch is the most common form.[1][3]
The breezeway through the center of the house is a unique feature, with rooms of the house opening into the breezeway. The breezeway provided a cooler covered area for sitting. The combination of the breezeway and open windows in the rooms of the house allowed outside air to enter the living quarters in the pre–air-conditioning era.[7]
Secondary characteristics of the dogtrot house include placement of thechimneys,staircases, andporches. Chimneys were almost always located at each gable end of the house, with each serving one of the two main rooms. If the house was 1½ or the rarer two stories, the necessary staircase was usually at least partially enclosed or boxed in. The stairway was most commonly placed in one or both of the main rooms, although it was sometimes placed in the open hallway. Although some houses had only the open central hall and flanking rooms, most dogtrots had full-width porches to the front and/or rear.
TheJohn Looney House inAshville, Alabama, is a rare example of a two-story dogtrot house built in the 1820s.[8]
Another example of a dogtrot house can be viewed at the old Brill ranch (Arizona state historical site), 3 miles\5 kilometers south of Wickenburg, Arizona. The original core of the adobe house is still standing and being used as a Visitor Center for a nature preserve. The house was built sometime between the 1850s to 1860s and was later used at The Garden of Allah dude ranch.
TheNoel Owen Neal House was built in 1840 nearNashville. Neal, a farmer, died in 1850. His wife Hesky maintained the farm after his death. The house was moved toWashington, Arkansas, and has undergone restoration.[9]
TheArkansas Post Museum includes the Refeld-Hinman home, a log-cabin dogtrot house built in 1877.[10][11]
Around 1820, theJacob Wolf House inNorfork, was constructed. The two-story dogtrot home of a pioneer leader is the oldest known standing structure in the state. The house was designated as a county seat and courthouse in 1825 by the territorial legislature.[12]
Around 1855, Colonel Randolph D. Casey built theCasey House, currently the oldest existing house inMountain Home. The home is currently maintained by the Baxter County Historical and Genealogical Society.[13]
In 1800, Jacob Eversole, of what is nowPerry County, Kentucky, constructed an addition to the one-room cabin he had erected in 1789, creating a two-story dogtrot home. The home is currently owned by Eversole's descendants.[14]
The town ofDubach inLincoln Parish, has several surviving dogtrot houses. In 1990, it was recognized as the "Dogtrot Capital of the World" by thestate legislature.[15][16] TheAutrey House Museum, a dogtrot house built in 1849, is located in Dubach; the home is believed to be the oldest extant structure in Lincoln Parish.[17]
AtLouisiana State University in Shreveport, the Pioneer Heritage Center[18] hosts the Thrasher House,[19] a two-room dogtrot house built in 1850 by Thomas Zilks nearCastor, Louisiana. The home was moved to LSUS in 1981.
The Museum of West Louisiana inLeesville includes the Alexander Airhart Home, a dogtrot house.[20]
TheLSU Rural Life Museum inBaton Rouge includes a restored dogtrot house built by Thomas Neal Sr. from the 1860s to the early 1870s inRapides Parish. The home was lived in by descendants of Mr. Neal until 1976, and was moved to the museum in 1979.[21]
Washington Parish, hosts the Sylvest House. This home, built in 1880 by Nehemiah Sylvest, was originally located in Fisher, Louisiana, but has since been moved to the fairgrounds inFranklinton.[22]
The O'Pry/Elam dogtrot house nearPleasant Hill, Sabine Parish, is a framed four-room dogtrot featuring an interior chimney. This house is the only remaining structure of the original village of Pleasant Hill and served as a hospital after theBattle of Pleasant Hill.[23]
InTunica, the Tunica Museum owns and operates the Tate Log House, a log-cabin dogtrot home built in 1840. This home is the oldest surviving structure in the county.[24]
The Tarkil Branch Farm's Homestead Museum, a private living-history museum inDuplin, includes a dogtrot house built in the 1830s.[25]
TheOld Choate House Museum inIndianola is a story-and-a-half dogtrot house that once belonged to a pastChoctaw Senate president.[26][27]
Fanthorp Inn State Historic Site is a historic hotel inAnderson, Texas, originally built as a dogtrot-style cedar cabin that was enlarged in about 1850 to accommodate its usage as a hotel and store. TheTexas Parks and Wildlife Department acquired the 6-acre (2.4 ha) site by purchase in 1977 from a Fanthorp descendant. On July 3, 1845,Kenneth Lewis Anderson, vice-president of theRepublic of Texas died from illness at the Inn whileen route home fromWashington-on-the-Brazos.
TheBarrington Living History Museum inWashington-on-the-Brazos, which demonstrates life in mid-19th century Texas, has as its centerpiece the Anson Jones home, a four-room dogtrot cabin built by Dr.Anson Jones, the last president of theRepublic of Texas. This home was moved to the site in 1936.[28]
TheLog Cabin Village, aliving history village owned and operated by the city ofFort Worth, includes the restored Parker Cabin, which was built by a relative ofCynthia Ann Parker in 1848.[29]
TheDallas Heritage Village, inDallas hosts a dogtrot house built in the winter of 1845-1846 near what is now theDallas/Fort Worth International Airport. This dogtrot was originally a log cabin, but was later covered in clapboard.[30]
TheSterne-Hoya House was built inNacogdoches, in 1830 by Texas Revolution leaderAdolphus Sterne as a dogtrot, although the open breezeway was later enclosed.[31]
On site at theEast Texas Arboretum sits the Wofford House, built in 1850 by B. W. J. Wofford. The now-restored home was moved to the arboretum in 2001 fromHenderson County.[32]
TheSam Houston Memorial Museum inHuntsville, has two dogtrot cabins.[33][34] The Woodland House, the most important structure at the museum, was constructed in 1847 bySam Houston when he was serving as one of Texas's first United States Senators.[35] and has siding-over-log construction. The Bear Bend Cabin, a four-room, story-and-a-half log cabin, was built by Sam Houston as a hunting lodge in the 1850s.[36]
TheGaines-Oliphint House, located inHemphill, is a story-and-a-half dogtrot built by James Gaines, one of the earliest Anglo settlers in Texas. The home was built some time between 1818 and 1849, and is currently owned by a chapter of theDaughters of the Republic of Texas.[37]
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