I photographed this house in 2013. It was unusual because it was architectural in style. The two side-by-side front doors are a common feature of double shotgun houses. I presume it was a tenant house. I attempted to relocate it in 2022, but it was gone.
Note: This updates and replaces a post originally published as “Pyramidal Roof Tenant House, Evans County”, on 22 February 2013.
This is a nice example of what I’ve come to consider a “modified shotgun house”. There are quite a few of these throughout the Columbus Historic District, all with their own unique design elements. Though not shotgun houses in the purest sense, they have the overall massing that defines the form.
Columbus Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
The more aware I’ve become of the rarity of double-shotgun houses, the more intrigued I am by the form. This cottage in Tattnall County is clearly a double-shotgun, but it is also pyramidal. It’s a great illustration of the overlap in vernacular forms. These structures were almost always associated with tenant farming but many were modified for later use as one-family residences or cabins. This example is a favorite and truly one of the nicest I’ve found.
Note: This updates and replaces a post originally published on 26 October 2014.
I photographed this shotgun house on Georgia Highway 169 in 2012. It was still standing a few years ago.
This photo was made in 2010 and like many I’ve shared today, the house is probably gone by now. It’s a classic example of a shotgun house.
This is about as simple as it gets, and that’s what I like about it. The windows are a bit fancier than those you might find on a more rural version of the beloved shotgun form.
This nice shotgun building sits behind a gate one what was likely a large farm or timber operation. To me, the placement of the windows and the fact it’s not set on piers make a proper identification difficult. I first thought it was a shotgun house, but it would probably be elevated if it were. It could also have been a commissary, but most commissaries don’t have this many windows. I hope someone knows and I’ll probably be surprised when I find out. Whatever it was, it’s a nice old building and I’m glad someone has helped it survive.
When I think of Shawnee I think of the Graham and Usher families, and I imagine one of them owned this house, which sits across from the commissary that has become the symbol of the village.
It’s a somewhat rare house type known as a double shotgun. While the lack of windows along most of the side of the house is unappealing today, this was a common practice with utilitarian dwellings. Most of them were rental properties or tenant housing “provided” to employees and since they were already viewed as an added expense by their owners, costs were cut any way they could be. Windows were expensive.
When I photographed this one, in 2015, it was still in relatively good condition. It was overgrown the last time I was in Shawnee.
This could also be identified as a shotgun house, though it’s slightly larger than most examples of that form.
