Eastern South Carolina
Southern Georgia
Florida
Alabama
Mississippi
Louisiana
Eastern Texas
Arkansas
Eastern Oklahoma
OVERVIEW: CHARACTER OF THE SOUTHEAST COASTAL PROVINCE BUILT AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS
Southeast Coastal Province
The Southeast Coastal Province is layered with
cultural and building traditions that respond
directly to its warm, humid climate; tidal rivers;
wetlands; and landscape features. It was originally
populated by Native Americans (who were largely
relocated in the 1830’s), wealthy planters,
African-American slaves and freedmen, Spanish
settlers of Florida, and the French and
frontiersmen of the tropical Gulf Coast.
In this province, keeping cool was the traditional
concern of builders. Dating from the early Native
Americans up until the advent of air conditioning,
many building types were designed to catch
breezes, create shade, and provide cool, outdoor
spaces such as courtyards and sleeping porches.
The porches of shotgun houses and the generous
verandas of traditional houses in Charleston
achieved these objectives within distinctive
building forms. Light-colored structures also
mitigate this climate by reflecting solar radiation.
Culture and climate are nearly inseparable in
this province. Traditional structures provided
balconies, porches, large hallways and
breezeways, wide eaves, and louvered
windows that provided relief from blazing,
humid summers.
In Louisiana, many
houses were built on tall foundations to
protect against flooding. In Georgia, South Carolina,
and Alabama, simple woodframe structures
elevated on wooden stilts may have
been influenced by the Florida Seminole huts
called “chickees.” Dairies and springhouses were
burrowed into the earth to preserve perishable
goods. The dogtrot house included a single roof
covering two pens, creating a breezeway and
shelter connecting two buildings. In agrarian
compounds, kitchens were frequently placed in
separate buildings to keep heat (and the threat
of fire) out of the main house. Plantations and
farms put different functions into separate
buildings such as smokehouses, blacksmith shops,
or winnowing houses for separating rice or grain
from its hard outer shell.
Figure of a Geographic Profile of the Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean:
The Southeast Coastal Profile includes the following:
Atlantic Ocean
Coastal Plain
Lower Piedmont
Southeast Mountain Geographic Profile includes the following:
Upper Piedmont
Mountain
Mountain Plateau