Sunday, September 10, 2006

Outbuildings

Our grandparents' place in Orlando in the mid-20th century had the following outbuildings. (Cousins, if I've missed any, or missnamed them, please let me know.)
Barn,
Chicken Coop,
Hog Shed,
Smoke House,
Tool Shed,
Corn Bin, . . . and yes, a
Two-Seater Outhouse that was well used.
The Fruit Cellar was built into the hill behind the house, but it wasn't really an out building because a long porch connected it to the house.

I'd noticed that there were a lot of little outbuildings, each with a single function, but I hadn't noticed that none of the outbuildings were painted, until I visited the new Bulltown Interpretive Park (where the Army Corps of Engineers moved several historical homes, the original St. Michael Church and numerous out buildings.) The Bulltown Interpretive Park brochure mentioned that in West Virginian culture, the outbuildings were left unpainted.

Above to the right is a photo of a few of the outbuildings on Oras & Edith (Skinner) Stutler's land (the former Dolan Hotel in downtown Orlando). To the left is a photo of the front porch of their home to show the care with which it was maintained. Below is the Cunningham House, nicely painted, and the corn crib that sits near it, one of several single purpose, unpainted structures at the Bulltown Interpretive Park.

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