Carpenter Gothic

Carpenter Gothic, also called Carpenter Gothic or Rural Gothic, is a North American architectural style that applies the details and picturesque massing of Gothic Revival architecture to wooden buildings put up by house carpenters rather than masons. The abundance of North American timber and an existing carpenter built vernacular tradition made an improvised, wood based version of Gothic forms a natural development, and because these builders were not bound by the fidelity to historical models expected of masonry Gothic Revival work, they were free to emphasize charm and quaintness, producing pointed arches, steep gables, board and batten siding, and jig sawn or bargeboard trim generally known as gingerbread. The style spread widely after Alexander Jackson Davis published Rural Residences and Andrew Jackson Downing published detailed plans and elevations, and it became common across most of the United States by the late nineteenth century, used mainly for small houses, outbuildings and small churches; its best known example is the American Gothic House in Eldon, Iowa, familiar from Grant Wood 1930 painting American Gothic.