The pamphleteer explained: 'The lower floor is the Ground the upper is Clapboard.' You may view an enlargement of the 1684 re-construction drawing by clicking on it. Note also that there was no mention of joist or planks for the first floor. You will note that the instructions did not mention a masonry foundation because this house was to 'stand upon' the eight 16 inch posts which were to be set in post-holes several feet deep. Click to enlarge.Дrawing by Cary Carson and Chinh Hoang, вЂњImpermanent Architecture in the Southern American ColoniesвЂќ Winterthur Portfolio, Vol. Re-Construction of a Virginia House based upon the 1684 Pamphlet. Of such a house the author continued: 'These houses usually endure ten years without repair.' The Lodging Room may be lined with the same and filled up between (with nogging), which is very warm.' For Covering the House, Ends and Sides, and for the Loft we use Clapboard, which is Rived feather-edged, of five foot and half long, that well Drawn lyes close and smooth. There must be ten Gists of twenty foot long to bear the Loft, and two false plates of thirty foot long to lie upon the ends of the Gists for the Rafters to be fixed upon, twelve pair of rafters of about twenty foot to bear the Roof of the House, with several other small pieces as Wind-Beams, Braces, Studs, etc. Stands elevated on a Sandy hill like Black Heath or Richmond Hill to rest upon. In April 1732, William Hugh Grove wrote in his diary of his approach to Yorktown by boat: 'This City (as tis called) is indeed a delicate Village. At a distance when approached from the water, the gentryвЂ™s complex resembled a small village. Surrounding the main house were out-buildings: kitchen, storehouse, smoke house, barn, stable, tobacco sheds and slavesвЂ™ quarters. Their mansion was located facing the river, overlooking their dock.

The wealthy gentry took up large tracks of land on major water-ways so they could more easily transport their tobacco and corn to England and have personal access to the water routes. Roads except near the established towns of the Tidewater were almost nonexistent so transportation was via rivers and the bay. This was unlike the communal village setting typical of England or even New England. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of colonial dwellings in the South was their isolation, situated along rivers and creeks amongst forest and cleared fields. Unlike in New England, villages were few and far between in the Chesapeake Bay region. Innovation in Pioneers' Houses in Virginia The Pioneers' Progression: Hovel, House, Home

Colony survival coated planks