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MISSISSIPPI FOLK ARCHITECTURE--THE DOGTROT

© Dorothy Hill

Sometimes things are not what they appear to be. Sometimes they hide secrets. Years ago I was looking for a house to buy. One of the houses that I looked at was an antebellum home. It was by no means a mansion like the type that comes to mind when someone imagines a house built before the Civil War, but it was a nice home right in the middle of town. It was when I opened a closet door that the house revealed a secret that would not have been suspected from its outward appearance. The original portion was made of logs.

Many of the early houses in north Mississippi began this way. As settlers moved into the newly opened land in the 1830's, their first order of business was to begin clearing land to plant their cotton. Needing shelter, they could easily construct a log cabin from the trees that were cut. After a year or two, when they needed more living space, they would add a new addition.

Since adding on to an existing log cabin was not easy, they followed a construction plan that was used throughout much of the South. A detached cabin was built adjacent to the original cabin. The two cabins (or pens as they were called) were joined together by a roof. A space of six to ten feet was left between the two cabins. This space or breezeway became an important part of the house and was called the dogtrot because the family's dogs would walk right through. This type of home became known as a dogtrot.

The dogtrot was a very practical type of construction especially in the South. While most of the people who built this type of home didn't know their scientific principles, they did know what worked. Many tried to align their homes north and south to take advantage of the direction the wind usually blew. Matter of fact, the dogtrot's shape actually increased the wind speed through the breezeway improving the house's ventilation. The breezeway proved to be a very comfortable spot to sit and visit or eat during the hot, humid southern weather. In addition, wide overhangs and porches on either side provided additional shade for the interior. During the winter months, a fireplace in each cabin provided the needed heat.

Today many of the state's dogtrots are unrecognizable. During the early half of the 1900's, the breezeways of most dogtrots were enclosed in an effort to modernize. The house's origins were farther disguised by the addition of siding.

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