
This is an interesting vernacular form, which would normally be labeled a gabled-ell; in this example the main section, on the left, is a shotgun house, with another shotgun extension to the right.
This is an interesting vernacular form, which would normally be labeled a gabled-ell; in this example the main section, on the left, is a shotgun house, with another shotgun extension to the right.
I’m excited to be able to share this photograph, as it was one of my earliest, and I thought it was long lost. It’s a real favorite of mine.
The house was located in one of Tifton’s older African-American neighborhoods, right on the edge of the northbound lane of I-75. It’s probably gone by now.
My preliminary inclination is to identify this as a shotgun house even though the facade has more of a storefront appearance. The photograph dates to 2013.
Neighborhoods of nearly identical shotgun houses were once common sights in Georgia towns and cities where a textile or cotton mill was present. The utilitarian housing was provided as a benefit of employment. Most have vanished in the past thirty years.
Bartow Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This double-shotgun house was the home of Ben Strickland. Ben was one of the most interesting “characters” I knew growing up, with a vast knowledge of reptiles and amphibians. Some people called him the “snake man” because he was adept at handling the creatures and spent more time with them than he did with people; he wasn’t scared of them and had great knowledge of their ways, from a lifetime of observations. This fascinated many of us youngsters, even when some folks thought it a bit odd.
This once-common form has become quite rare today. The house is divided into two residences by a wall through the middle.