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A Short History of Shotgun Houses

The shotgun house is a very enigmatic form of vernacular architecture whose full origins may never be known. Many attribute it to African design via Haitian immigrants to the United States; others cite the story that a shotgun could be fired cleanly through the rooms whose doorways all aligned.

What is known is that shotgun houses are generally found in clusters in urban settings, mimicking narrow city lots. They consist of a one-story row of rooms, generally 12’ wide and three rooms deep, with the gable end facing the street. Some sources even credit the American front porch and the practice of "shooting the breeze" with one's neighbors to shotgun houses.

In the US, the style waxed and waned in three distinct periods, spreading geographically during each phase. During the middle stage, the homes were highly decorated, taking on the architectural fashion of the time in roof brackets and vent covers.

The vast majority of shotgun homes were built in the final period, the early 20th century, to house the rapidly expanding working class population; these later examples tend to be plainer.