Rural vernacular building tradition: the design, construction, and use of springhouses in Montgomery County, Virginia

Abstract

The research hypothesis of this study states that the springhouses of Montgomery County, Virginia, are part of an established, regionally specific, rural vernacular building tradition. Over the one-hundred and fifty-year period examined for this survey, the form and design of springhouses remained consistent, but the size, number, construction materials, and functions of springhouses changed, in response to economic, social, and technological developments.

The purpose of this study was two-fold: first, to document existing springhouses in Montgomery County, Virginia, using photographs and an evaluation form; and secondly, to provide analysis and interpretation of regional springhouse design, construction, and use, based on fieldwork.

While springhouses appear to be relatively few in number in comparison with other farm structures, such as barns, many were adapted and maintained for decades, and some are still being used today. Their continued survival, however, may depend upon sympathetic property owners who recognize the significance of the springhouse to the rural landscape. This work will comment on the physical and material contexts of the springhouse as a building type; describe springhouse characteristics; and provide a catalog of fifty existing springhouses in Montgomery County, Virginia.