Farm House

Farm House. . Once a smaller home, this building has been on site since 1855. Benton S. D. Williams built Oak View in 1855 as an I-Frame Greek Revival style farmhouse, a style popular at the time. The most dominant feature of the Greek Revival style is the double portico columned front of the home, which remains unchanged to this day. , When the Poole family bought the property in 1940, they decided to significantly remodel and update the house. While every care was taken to respect the antebellum heritage of the structure, they created. an entirely new and modern home. The remodel followed many of the trends of the 1930s and 1940s, including adding Colonial Revival elements, a blend of the old and the new. , [Captions] , Top row, left to right: , . The above diagram shows how the Oak View House has changed over time. With each new addition, the house grew in size and character. , . Pictured above is the Oak View farm house. The date of the photo is unknown, but historians believe it dates back to the early 1900s. The farm house has yet to be renovated by the Poole family (1940) and the gazebo has yet to be built (1910s). , Bottom row, left to right: , . This picture shows the house in the 1940s. Notice, the barn in the background has two sheds. The sheds were added by the Poole family with their property improvements, but Hurricane Hazel destroyed one in 1954. , . Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival style was inspired by the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial, what some consider America's first World's Fair. Whereas earlier decades saw colonial architecture as outdated, antiquated and obsolete, the Centennial sparked nostalgia and an interest in colonial architecture. Most popular in the 1930s and 1940s, Colonial Revival homes often had symmetrical exteriors, dormer windows, and flanking wings. , . Greek Revival The Greek Revival trend stems from multiple influences: sympathy for the Greek War of Independence (1821-1830), emerging archaeological finds from Greece and its role as the earliest democracy, as well as America's desire to disassociate with England (and its architectural style) after the War of 18 12. Greek Revival houses were usually symmetrical, with a double portico which had its more stylish features in the upper portion of the portico.