I love old homes. I love the details of the architecture and the variety. With the push to build so many homes so far, we really lost that aspect of our history. In Salem, we have a few Dutch colonials, not a lot.

A Dutch Colonial Home in Bush Park Salem Oregon

A Dutch Colonial Home in Bush Park Salem Oregon

The Dutch Colonial home is an American style that came from “Deutsch” settlers in Pennsylvania.
Whenever I see one of these homes, I think barn. If you are thinking “hey, that home looks like a barn” then it most likely has the Dutch colonial influence. The barn like roof is called a gambrel roof.
The early versions of these homes were single rooms; additions were added to each end. The chimney is usually located on one or both ends of the home. Dormers (the punched out windows in the roof) are very common in these homes, especially with shed like overhangs. You will often see a double doorway (divided horizontally) centrally located as well.
Dutch Colonial Home in Fairmount Hills

Dutch Colonial Home in Fairmount Hills

The original purpose of the double doorway was to leave the bottom half closed, which would prevent those pesky cows, chickens, sheep, and goats from coming into your home and eating your couch. Light would then still be able to enter from the open top half of the door.

Most of Salem’s Dutch colonials were built in the early 20th century during a revival period to older style architecture. There are not a lot of them in town, but you can see great examples of these located around Bush Park, Fairmount Hills, and in the Historic Districts of Salem Oregon.
(c) Copyright, 2008. Melina Tomson, All Rights Reserved. DO NOT COPY this without express written permission from the author.

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