Folkway #2 - Building

So, how did Central Florida pioneers build their homes?

The not-so-simple answer is that depended on their station in life, particularly how long they had been here.

When it came to building material, newly-arrived settlers typically had to make do with what they brought from their former residences or what they could forage from the wilderness.  It was not uncommon for them to fashion a simple hut from palm fronds.  Or, they might just sleep in or beneath their wagons.  But, these were only short term solutions.

After staking their claims with the land office and recording the pertinent documents with local authorities, settlers would turn to building a simple log cabin.  They were notch-in-groove structures, similar to the "Lincoln Logs" so many of us played with as children.  Again, they were not intended to stand the test of time, just to provide shelter long enough for the pioneer to "perfect" his claim. 

Side note: "Pefecting" a claim meant satisfying all the requirements necessary to gain full title to a piece of property.  Often these requirements included a defined number of years of residency.  Until they perfected their claim, most settlers were reluctant to construct anything too expensive.  Particularly during the Reconstruction Era (1865-1877), they were concerned about unscrupulous land agents withholding title at the last moment.

There is only one verifiable pioneer cabin that has survived in this area, used for many years primarily as a retreat for hunters and fishermen.  Though modified and updated several times over the years, its original "bones" are quite evident even from the street.  It stands just north of Lake Jennie Jewel and is still privately owned/occupied.

Once they had title to their lands, settlers would begin construction of a single-pen house.  These were simple one-room square wood frame structures.  They were erected on a raised platform with broad board flooring, which allowed for increased ventilation.  The ubiquitous farm dogs could sleep under it and attract the fleas to their bodies instead of the human residents above.  And, the cracks between the floorboards allowed sand to filter down with a few swishes of a corn husk broom.

These vernacular structures tried to take advantage of Florida's hot and humid climate with a more vertical than horizontal nature.  They had steeply-pitched roofs for ventilation, and a broad overhang to shade the front porch.

The simplicity of these early structures made subsequent additions easy.  The next generation was a double-pen house, colloquially known as a dog-trot for the broad breezeway left between the original single-pen structure and the second room.  Again, the pioneers were seeking as much ventilation as they could find.  On particularly hot nights, they would even drag their mattresses out into the breezeway.

As the years passed and a pioneer prospered, more additions were made and outbuildings were erected.  Eventually, some of them became quite substantial.  Local writer Will Wallace Harney called these little compounds "pine castles," as the primary building material was milled pine boards.

In fact, Mr. Harney liked this term so well that it served as inspiration during the construction of his own home on the shores of Lake Conway.  Known as THE "Pine Castle," it featured vertically placed sideboards for the illusion of added height.  And, it had a matching set of turrets.  But, this was exceptional for the area, not the rule.  Its exceptionalism is the reason it became a landmark and, eventually, the namesake of the vast area surrounding the Conway chain of lakes south of Orlando.

To learn more about Central Florida's pioneer folkways, consider attending this month's Pine Castle Pioneer Days (Feb 21st & 22nd) at Cypress Grove Park, 290 Holden Avenue, Orlando, FL 32809.  More info at this web site: www.pinecastlepioneerdays.org