Own a piece of American history Welcome back to Period Dramas, a weekly column that alternates between roundups of historic homes on the market and answering questions we?ve always had about older structures.
This week, the U.S. celebrated its 241st birthday. And while the Declaration of Independence may be safely in Washington, D.C., not every artifact from America?s revolutionary past is guarded behind glass in a museum.
Up and down the east coast, houses with connections to the Revolutionary War are not only still standing, they?re still being used as private homes. Whether they were the former homes of soldiers or places where notable players in the war passed through, these 18th-century residences all share a few characteristics: They?re mainly wood-frame structures with central chimneys and wood clapboard cladding. These early colonial houses are cousins of the English Georgian style, which was popular when England started colonizing the eastern U.S. coast. Floorplans in the American houses are quite simple: Generally, there?s a small entryway bookended by two large rooms and one smaller room in the back, with the central chimney acting as the main device to separate the spaces into discrete rooms. The second-floor layout is usually very similar to that of the first.
And beyond their structural charm, they all have a place in the foundation of American history. Here, we?ve rounded up three houses for sale right now, each of which played a role in the Revolutiona...